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Fl{OMlSl'li:( E SlENKS ON rATlM A UlVEK. 



SPANISH 
HONDURAS 



ITS 



IVERS, LAGOONS. SAVANNAS, MOUNTAINS, 
MINERALS. FORESTS, FISH. GAME. 
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS, FRUITS, 
TRANSPORTATION AND NATIVES. 




ILLUSTRATED. 



NO. 2 



PUBLISHED BY 

W. R. GILLESPIE, M. D , 

42 BROADWAY, 

NEW YORK. 

1906. 



Price - 



$1.00 



^\ 50 3 
/\S\ 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 

Two Copies Received 

OCT 24 1906 

r^ CoDyrigrht Entry 

CLASS A, XXcf, No, 

/^~ 3 ^ Of 
COPY B. /■ 



Entered according to Act of Congress at tlie Office of the Librarian 
of Congress, Washington, D. C, 1906, by W. R. Gillespie, M D. 
All rights reserved. This means entire contents, including cuts. 





BOWNE & CO.. 

Stationers and Pkinteus, 

81 Beaver St., New Yoik. 



f\y 



^ 



Vd 



A 



!n 



y) 



s- 



CONTENTS 



Introduction .... 

Engineer's Rei)ort 
Patnca Kiver Survey 
River Regimen at Mouth 
Jetty Construction 
Cost of Jetties 

Saw .Afill 

PatucM Townsite 

Suiimijiry of Cost of Development 

Preliminary Work 

Men Required 

Fruit Trade 

Patuca Harbor 

Healtli, Temperature, Rainfall 

Game and Fish 

Land Grant 

Pine Forests 

Minerals 

Gold Placers 

Table of Assays 

Pearls and Copper 

Woods and Lumber 

Cedar 

Rosewood . 

Mahogany 

Dyewoods . 
Rubber . 
Medicinal Plants 
Fruit Trees 

Cocoanuts and Bananas 
Plantains as Food 
Coffee and Grapes 
Textile Plants 
Palms 

Agricultural Products 
Industries 
Conclusions 

Notes on Patuca Valley 
Gold Washing- 
Praises Honduras 
Other Evidence 
Packer's Diary 
U, S. Government Report 



Pajre 

7 
13 
14 
22 
2.") 
30 
42 
.■)0 
07 
71 



78 
80 
84 
S5 
93 
98 
09 
102 
106 
107 
108 
109 
114 
122 
124 
125 
120 
129 
130 
131 
132 
134 
136 
142 
160 
164 
166 
169 
173 
177 
180 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Scenes on Patuca Kiver 

Bananas on Patuca Eiver 

Patuea River by Moonli^ylit 

Pine Tree .... 

Laborers on Plantation 

Steamer "Maid of Patuea " 

Boats at Patuca 

Native Cbildren 

Surf Bathin- .... 

Curassow .... 

The Foreman on Plantation 

Fish from Patuca Eiver 

Rubber and Bananas 

Map of Honduras 

Young- Banana I'lants 

Barracouda .... 

Woman with Bananas 

Hunter .... 

Banana Car .... 

Yellow Pine on Patuca River 

Banana Sprouts in Clearing 

House at Plantation 

Pier and Station — Puerto Cortez 

Tropical Foliage . 

Banana Plants Eleven Mcmths 01 

Natives at Patuca 

A Cacao Tree .... 

Loading Bananas 

Clearing New Land . 

Launch " Louise " 

Cutting Bananas 

View of Patuca Rivei- . 

I'lantation Scenes 

Native Houses 

Pine Forest .... 

Banana I'lants One Yeai- Ohl 

Phiza at Tegucigalpa 

After Nine Months' IManiin.u 

Natixe Woman Wasliiiig I'attica 

loading IJananas in FIoikIhims 

I'atuca River at I'Mood 

Tall Timber — Honduras 

I'^reight Ti'ansi»ortarion 



Pa^e 

Frontispiece 
12 
15 



INTRODUCTION. 



Central America occupies that portion of the globe lying- be- 
tween Xorth and South America and between the Cariblx'an Sea 
and the I'acific Ocean. Geographically, its northwestern ex- 
treniit\- is at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and its southwestern 
extremity at the Isthmus of Panama. Politicall}-. it includes the 
British colony of Belize and five independent Republics. One 
of the largest three is the Republic of Honduras. To the west of 
Honduras lie the Republics of Guatemala and Salvador, to the 
south of it Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The area of Honduras 
is about five thousand square miles larger than that of the State 
of Pennsylvania. Its northern coast line is about 350 miles long. 
Its southern coast line nearly surrounds the Bay of h'onseca. and 
is seventy miles long. The surface is generally mountainous, but 
the central jDart of the Republic consists of a large plateau of 
3,000 to 4,000 feet elevation above sea level. The country is 
drained by a number of rivers, the largest of which are the Ulna, 
the Aguan and the Patuca. Patuca River rises in the south 
central portion of the Republic, flows in a general northeast 
direction for a distance of 300 miles, and empties into the Carib- 
bean Sea. It is the largest river between the Mississippi and the 
Magdalena. The highest mountain ranges are in the northern 
and western parts of the country. The highest peak is Mount 
Congrehoi, near the north coast, which rises more than 8,000 
feet above sea level. The entire country, excepting only the 
liigher mountain peaks, is covered either with a dense tropical 
growth, or with tall grasses. The alluvial soils of the vallcvs 
sustain a jungle, the hills and mountain sides a heavv growth 
of valuable hard woods and the plateaus comprise ideal grazing 
grounds. The mountains are rich in minerals. Gold, silver, 
copper, coal.-iron and opals exist in abimdance. 

The modern history of Honduras dates back to the landing of 
Columbus on its north coast in 1502. That it was earlier peopled 
by a progressive race is shown in its vast ruins, the most noted 
of which are to be found in the department of Copan. and also 
near Catacamas, in the valley of the Patuca. Columbus laid 
claim to the country fcr the crown of Spain. This was followed 



by the wnquest of Cortez. From the landing of the latter until 
the people freed themselves from the Spanish yoke in 1821, the 
history of the country was similar to' that of the other unfortunate 
peoples who were conquered by Spanish aggressiveness and 
treachery. Since 1821 Honduras has been a free and independent 
Republic, regularly electing a President and holding annual meet- 
ings of Congress, operating under a Constitution based upon 
that of the United States. In the four centuries which have 
elapsed since the discovery of Honduras by Columbus, that 
country has made practically no progress from a material point 
of view. None need have been expected during the Spanish 
rule. But the dose of Spanish domination left a people of 
Spanish blood intermingled with the native Indian. These people 
lacked initiative and energy such as are found in the Anglo- 
Saxon race. T4iey were poor, with no facilities whatever for 
transportation or manufacture. The principal business of the 
people became that of cattle raising, which required neither tools 
nor machinery. In addition, they grew corn, rice, casava, yams 
and tropical fruits. During the Spanish regime grape growing 
and wine making were carried on upon quite an extensive scale. 
But, when the products began to compete with the vineyards of 
the mother country, the vines of Honduras were ordered 
destroyed, and since that time the industry has never been re- 
vived. Tobacco growing has been, and is, conducted upon a large 
scale in the western portion of the Republic, and the leaf is 
shipped out in bales. Large quantities are also rolled into cigars 
and thus exported. 

There are but fifty-eight miles of railway in the entire Re- 
public. In 1867 an interoceanic railway was projected from the 
Gulf of Honduras on the north, to the Bay of Fonseca on the 
south. The promoters were London Hebrews, who induced the 
Government of Honduras to guarantee the bonds of the road. 
These bonds were sold principally in London and in Paris. The 
schemers received the money for them, built only thirtv-seven 
miles of the 150 miles of road planned, and pocketed the balance 
of the funds, tlius saddling an enormous debt upon the Republic, 
which debt to-day, with the accumulated interest, amounts to some- 
thing like one hundred million dollars, a sum which the Republic of 
Honduras will never be able to pay. since heretofore they have not 
been able to meet even the interest on it. The deal was fraudu- 
lent, and was so declared bv the British Parliament in ^Sy^. 
L'pon complaint of some of the bondholders. Parliament at that 
time appointed a committee to investigate the transaction, in order 
to determine the rights of the bondholders and the possibility 
of securing their money. This committee reported that the whole 



matter was so tainted wth fraud as not to deserve parliamentary 
consideration. Notxyithstanding- all this, the Repui.lic of Hon- 
duras has never repudiated the debt, although it has been re- 
peatedly urged to do so. This heavA- obligation has handicapped 
the country in many vva}s. Owing to the weight of this great 
load, modern progress has been slower in Honduras than in any 
other of the Central American Republics. An American syndi- 
cate a few years ago extended this railway twenty-one miles 
farther, and the line has been in constant operation ever since. 
It transports annually over three million bunches of bananas, 
many passengers, large numbers of cattle, great quantities of 
lumber, hides, cccoanuts, rubber and general merchandise. Ueing 
the only rail line of transportation in the Republic, being less 
than .^ixty miles in leno;th and tai)i)ing but a very limited terri- 
tory, one would hardly expect it to pay operating expenses. 
Yet it returns a large surplus, which fact points to the ultimate 
success of transportation lines, which may be developed in other 
sections of Honduras. 

Second to the railroad in importance as a line of communication 
is tlie macadam road from Tegucigalpa, the ca])ital, ninety miles 
to the P>av of Fonseca. on the Pacific Coast. This road has 
occupied many years in building and has cost large sums. It is 
well graded and bridged. It is broad (in many places 40 meters), 
passes through fertile valleys, winds around beautiful hills, crosses 
great gorges, and affords the traveler an ever changing vista of 
the most delightful scenery, while riding in an azure atmosi)here 
which renders existence not only a pleasure but a jo\'.. 

Travel through the balance of the country is accomplished only 
on mule back over narrow, winding, mountainous trails, or in 
rowboats on the numerous beautiful streams and lagoons. 
Freights are thus carried at enormous expense of both money 
and time. To the citizen of the United States these methods of 
locomotion are tedious in the extreme. A few weeks' travel in 
Honduras, away from the railroad and the great national high- 
way, is the only manner in which one can be indelibly impressed 
with the crying need for modern methods of transportation in a 
countrv as beautiful and as, rich in natural resources as any other 
on the earth. 

With her untold mineral wealth, her incalculable values in hard 
woods and other timbers, her illimitable agricultural possibili- 
ties, her vast quantities of fish and game, her green hills and vales. 
her clear streams and her incomparable climate, give Honduras 
a proper net-work of steam and electric roads, put modern 
steamboats on her rivers, and no country anywhere will be more 
delightful for residence or more enticing as a place in which to 

9 



accumulate fortunes. She will then become the gem of the sub- 
tropics, where the life of the planter, the miner, the merchant 
will become the life of ease and affluence. 

The Government of Honduras is administered wisely and 
economically. Her imports and exports now show a balance in 
her favor of more than three million dollars annually. That is, 
she is adding this amount to her wealth each vear. Put in another 
way, her exports bring in 135 per cent, more than the cost of her 
imports. Any man whose business returns 135 per cent, on the 
purchase price of his goods would consider himself doing pretty 
well. So with a country. With this rate of gain continued, 
Honduras will soon become a very wealthy government. The 
rate of gain is constantly increasing ! 

The President, General Don jNIanuel Bonilla, is devoting his 
energies to the upbuilding of the agricultural, mineral and com- 
mercial relations of his country. He is surrounded by an able 
ministry. The Government invites foreign capital and energy 
and does all it can to aid in their prosperity. It treats its new- 
comers with the most profound consideration. The people are 
polite and obliging. They are honest in their dealings. 

The Constitution of the Republic of Honduras guarantees the 
same liberties as to life, property and religion as does the Con- 
stituton of the United States, both to citizens and foreigners alike. 
The lives and properties of foreigners are as safe in Honduras 
as they are in our ow^i country. In fact, the percentage of 
criminality in Honduras is much smaller than in Xorth America. 
Thefts, burglaries, highway robberies and murders are extremely 
rare in Honduras. Only Avhen a foreigner interferes in aflfairs 
political does he subi'ect himself to risk of bodilv harm, and even 
this risk is slight. The Hondurefio, excited politically, does much 
shouting and little shooting. The U. S. newspaper accounts of 
political upheavals in Honduras are invariably grossly exagger- 
ated. Such reports do Honduras a great injustice. They also 
iniure -Americans who have interests in that country, because 
when Hondurcnos read false reports in L\ S. papers, they natur- 
ally feel resentful toward a people who will deliberately publish 
falsehoods detrimental to a law-abiding race. The worst element 
in I-Ionduras comes from the U. S. Those who go there to en- 
gage in business have to be on their guard against persons of 
our own nationality. This fact is not intended to be disjiaraging 
as to Americans in general in Honduras. There are large num- 
bers of honorable citizens from and of the U. S., who have be- 
come established in our sister Republic in plantinc-. mining, mer- 
chandising, lumbering, shipping, etc. It i'^ only the adventurers 
of whom we w^st beware. 

10 



The Hondureno attends strictly to his own business, so far as 
the foreigner is concerned What if he have his pohtical dis- 
putes ? W'e have them at home. As to the likeHhood of serious 
quarrels interfering with foreigners, we have only to point to the 
past. Since the formation of the Republic in 1821, we know of 
no instance in which foreign corporations or individuals have 
suffered more than delay during a political disturbance. Property 
rights have always been respected, and in case of accidental loss 
of property cr goods, reparation has been prompt and ample. 
That no serious disturbance is likely to occur in future is exem- 
])lified by the recent scrap between Salvador and ( iuatemala, 
when Honduras took a hand only so far as was necessary to re- 
pel invaders from her territory. Within forty-eight hours after 
Presidents Roosevelt and Diaz s])()ke hostilities ceased. ( )ur own 
(iovernment will not permit anything approaching a revolution 
in future. And our own President made a wise move when he 
placed a certain future responsibility upon Mexico and gave her 
a ]~)r()ud feeling of increased power, liv inviting her to join in the 
protest to the contending nations. The writer has made a close 
studv of TTonduras for many years. Has been over much of her 
territory, and has been through one of her so-called revolutions. 
After these experiences he can truthfully say that he never had 
occasion to fear anything or anybody in that country ; that he 
felt safer there, sleeping under a shack without doors or walls. 
or in traveling in the wilds, night or dav, than he does in anv 
city cf our own country sleeping with doors lo.cked and \'-ind.o'"-s 
barred or in walking our own streets at night. And this same 
feeling of se.curitv obtains as to property, whether it be mer- 
chandise, live stock, monev or real estate. The Hondureno does 
not steal your monev. rrb vou of vour jewels, cheat vou out 
nf ^■pur prnpertv cr murder you. 




11 




15\NA\A- i>N rAILCA Kl\KK. 



REPORT 

OF THE 

CHIEF ENGINEER 

OF ')HE 

AMERICAN-HONDURAS COMPANY. 



TkcLi. ICALI'A, lloX., C. A. 



Presitlent and Directors. 

American-Honduras Com tan v. 

Gentlemen :— 

I have the honor to make the following report on the improve- 
ment of the month of the Patuca River, Hon., and the other 
works required in the concession from the Government of the 
State of Honduras to your Company. 

In August I came to Honduras, and in this month and the two 
following with a surveying party, by your direction. I made a 
careful hydrographic survey of the Patuca Bar and the mouth of 
the river and a reconnaissance, boat survey and soundings of the 
river as far as Gualpitanti, 75 miles from the mouth, by the river, 
and in November I made a preliminary report of this survey to 
which attention is invited for a general description of the region 
embraced in the examination. 

Having now completed the detailed plans required under the 
concession, and the same having been approved by the Hondu- 
ranean Government, I submit them together with this report on 
the feasibility and conduct of the work and physical characteris- 
tics of the river as developed by the survey. 

13 



IMPROVEMENT OF THE PATUCA RIVER MOUTH 

TO OBTAIN A DEPTH OF TV/ELVE 

FEET OF WATER ON THE BAR 

AT LOW TIDE. 



The Patuca River, the longest river of Honduras, discharges 
into the Caribbean Sea on the north coast of that RepubHc 225 
miles east of Puerto Cortez, the principal port of the State. 

The nearest port of entry is Port Burchard, 58 miles to the 
westward, which is Yricna Post Office. A small village of 31 
cabins of Mosquito, Zanibo and Poya Indians is located at the 
mouth of the Patuca River, and the Government has established 
a Post Office and Custom House here. 

The latitude of Station "M" in Patuca village, as determined 
by me, by 3 Meridian altitudes of the sun, with a Fauth Solar- 
transit, is N. 15° 50' 34.9". 

The longitude, taken from the Coast Chart No. 394, U. S. 
Hydrographic Office, U. S. N., is W. 84° 17' 05". 

The station is a stake N. 6°. 30 W. Mag., 30 ft. from the X. W. 
corner of Frank Fairweather's board house. 

The magnetic declination at the same station on October 2d, 
I found from four observations of the sun, with a solar transit 
to be 4° 30' E. 

The Patuca River is about 300 miles long. As far up as I 
examined it, I found it to be about 400 to 500 feet wide and with 
a 12 to 15 feet depth at the mean stage of water when I visited it. 

I was unable to establish the low water depth, as the river did 
not fall to that stage while I was there, but from the best infor- 
mation that I could obtain it is about cue to eight feet less. 

RI\'ER GAUGING AND CURRENT OP.SERX'ATIONS. 

I gauged the river at Gualpitanti on Septenilicr 24tb. at which 
time the water was 6 feet above the low water line and about 
2^ feet below the mean. The depth was 12V2 to 17 feet and the 
mean velocity 5.62 feet per second or 3.83 miles per hour, and the 
discharge equalled 3(^.^74 cubic feet per second. 

DEPTH. ETC. 

Twenty-four and one-half miles al)ove the mouth of the Patuca, 
the river divides, the loft hand branch, called Toom Toom Creek, 

14 



going to Brewer's Lagoon. Just above the head of this pass I 
found the width of the main river to be 390 feet and the depth 
26 to 30 feet in the channel on September 28th. and approximate 
mean velocity 3.56 feet per second or 2.42 miles per hour, the 
river being about 6 feet above low water. The depth in the Pass 
or cut-off was from 21 to 48 feet at this stage, and the width 
from 165 to 200 feet. Just helnw tlK- head of the Pass the main 




The Patuca Kiver by ]Mo(>xli(;ht. 

river was 300 feet wide and the depth from 21 to 26 feet in the 
channel. (See plan of head of Toom Toom Pass). 

Complete data was obtained for computing the discharge of 
the Pass at a mean stage of water, but it has not yet been worked 
up. This is required in designing the proposed dam at this point, 
and also the low water plane and discharge must be established, 
v^diich can only be done at the low water season. 



15 



HARBOR DEPTH. 

The width of the river at the gorge at Patiica is 670 feet, and 
the depth, reduced to mean low water, is 23.4 feet in the channel, 
which is on the west side, to 13.5 in the middle of the river. 
Along the front of the village of Patuca the depth runs from 18.5 
feet to 24.4 in the channel about 100 to 150 feet from shore. 
Just above the village the width narrows to 465 feet, with a depth 
of 22.5 in the channel. 

VELOCITY. 

The mean velocity at the gorge on September 2d and 3d was 
2.57 feet per second or 1.75 miles per hour, and the discharge 
24,552 cubic feet per second. In the channel near the west shore, 
the mean velocity was 2.85 feet per second. The flood never sets 
up in this river. Thirty-two floats were run through the gorge. 
of which 16 were run while the tide gauge showed flood and 16 
on the ebb. The mean velocity on the flood and ebb was exactly 
the same. These floats consisted of maiden cane weighted Avith ?. 
piece of iron at the bottom and having a wooden block about 3 or 
4 inches square attached to it at the water surface. 

The canes were cut so as to clear the bottom i foot, the def Ji 
on the course having been previously ascertained in sounding the 
river. A tiny flag, with number, was attached to the top of each 
float rod, which projected about i foot above the water surface. 
The time chosen for running the floats was perfectly calm. 

NO TIDE. 

A base line 931.6 feet long was measured on shore and a 
transit instrument set up at either end and the exact time of the 
upper and lower transits taken through the instrument with a 
stop watch reading to one-fifth of a second. The exact course 
and time of each float was also located simultaneously some 6 to 
8 times in each run by the instruments. The mean velocity was 
reduced from these observations, and is believed to be the mean 
vertical 1 section velocity, very nearly. These observations show 
that at this stage of water there is absolutely no up current in the 
river, even at the bottom, the floats remaining nearlv vertical in 
their passage. 

I am informed by the Indian rcsitlcnts at Patuca that the cur- 
rent never sets up in the river. On May 5, 1898, Mr. John E. 
Wood made a single current observation by noting the time re- 
quired for a piece of scantling 3" x 4 " x 6 feet to pass from the 

16 



upper end of the town to opposite the point of the gcrge, which 
resulted in a velocity of 0.90 feet per second or 0.61 mile per 
hour. The stick was weiijhted at one end so as to float upright in 
the water. This observation was made at the season of extreme 
low water in the river. At tliat time, according to Mr. Wood's 
survey, a dry sand bank projected into the river at the gorge from 
the west side, as shown on my chart of the harbor in dotted lines, 
220 feet, where at the time of my survey we found 23.4 feet of 
water. Another point i)rojected from the west shore into the 
harbor 440 feet, near wlierc I have located the west jetty. Mr. 
Wood's survey and ma]) was so crude and imperfect that no de- 
pendence can be placed on it. It is probable that the bank shown 
l)y Mr. Wood at the gorge jioint really occupied a position to the 
north of the point, where our survey developed a shallow with 
3K' to S-7 feet of water. 

()!• I- .^TTORR rrRRKXTS. 

Owing to the want of suitable boats for outside work no satis- 
factory results could be obtained in observations of the littoral 
currents. The Indian canoes, which were the only kind of boat 
available, proved totally ina(lec|uate and were re])eatedly swamped 
while crossing the bar, the sounding clocks were filled with water 
and ruined and the note books soaked until they fell in pieces. 
By great good fortune no lives were lost and the note books were 
saved, otherwise all the work of the survey would have had to be 
gone over again. On account of the utter worthlessness of these 
canoes for such work we were obliged to omit taking a great 
many outside soundings that should have been taken. 

The result was that being unable to do any work with a sextant 
in these canoes, owing to their smallness and unsteadiness, both 
myself and my assistants were obliged to remain on shore, and 
the only recorders available to go in these Indian dug-outs proved 
incompetent to read time, confusing the notes to such an extent 
that it proved almost impossible to plot them, which could only be 
done after long study and by devoting not less than 4 times the 
time to the work, than would otherwise have been required. We. 
would never have been able to accomplish anything if the sea 
had not been exceptionally smooth at that time. 

Tlie few current observations taken are shown on the chart of 
the harbor. The flood currents ofif Patuca point are found to run 
to the west and northwest. Ofif the east beach 3 of our surface 
floats, on the first quarter of the flood, came directlv in to the- 
beach with a velocity of 0.34 miles per hour. One of them was- 
caught just inside the line of breakers in the surf race and carried 



up tl-e beach in the direction of East Point with a velocity of 1.04 
miles per hour. This current continues clear up to the point. 
The current setting in to the beach here seems to be essentially 
a surface current until shcal water is reached near the beach, 
for of the two sub-surface floats set out at the same time, one 
only travelled 460 feet in i hour and 21 minutes or 0.06 miles per 
hour, in about the same direction as the surface float wliich trav- 
elled about 6 times faster. The other bottom float developed the 
same velocity. 

One surface float put overboard in 6 fathoms of water started 
in a course of about S. 8° W. and curved round toward the west 
until its course was S. 65° W., velocity, ^-raile per hour, on first 
quarter of 'flood. This shows a circular action or large whirlpool 
in connection with the currents up to the east beach and those 
crossing the bar, the center of which appears to be the deep hole 
marked "Hard'' with over 24.5 feet, ^4 of a mile east of east 
jetty. 

Off the bar, at the main channel entrance the first quarter of 
the surface ebb runs to the N. E. while the fourth quarter runs 
east, and in the east swash channel the first quarter surface ebb 
also runs east. In the same place the bottom float, on the last 
quarter of the ebb, September 8th, was found to have a velocity 
of I.I I miles per hour, or 1.63 feet per second, on a course N. 54° 
45' E., which gradually decreased as the distance from the bar 
increased, until at a distance of 2,900 feet the velocity was only 
0.4 T of a mile per hour. The surface and bottom velocities show 
a divergence, therefore, of 39 degrees. The surface velocity was 
so great that the surface float put overboard at the same time was 
carried so far out to sea in 30 minutes that it w^as lost sight of 
and never recovered. It was perfectly calm while these observa- 
tions were taken. 

The surface float was an egg-shaped block of Balsa or Maguey 
wood, fully as light as cork and carrying a very small flag with a 
number. The bottom float was a galvanized iron can 2 feet long 
by TO inches in diameter, filled with water and connected with 
a' small perch fish line with a surface float, such as just de- 
scribed and which sustained it. the line being made of such a 
length as to float the can 2 feet above the bottom. 

These observations failed to establish the fact of any littoral 
current on the bottom, but would seem to indicate the existence 
dtn-ing flood tide of a surface current setting along the beach to 
the west on both sides of the river. It is much t(-i be regretted 
llial the facilities at my disjiosal prevented a more thorough ex- 

18 



amination in this direction, as the establishment of the fact of the 
existence of a strong httoral current would dispose effectually of 
the question of jetty extension. 

CURRENT ACTIOX. 

According to Du Buat, a velocity of 0.44 mile per hour will lift 
sand as coarse as linseed, and 1.50 moves pebbles an inch in 
diameter. The bottom velocity. 2,900 feet from the bar, in a 
depth of 4 fathoms, as proven by our observations, is 0.41, and 
at the gorge we have a mean velocity of 1.75 miles per hour, or 
2.57 feet per second. In Ex. Doc. 78. 48th Congress, it is stated 
that "the mean ordinary velocity at the narrows in Xew York Bay 
is, during the ebb tide, about 2 feet per second and from this a 
depth of 100 feet results." 

We may expect nearly the same velocity as the latter, at the 
bar, when the jetties are completed and the current is confined 
between them. While these experiments of Du Buat were made 
on a small scale and are not conclusive, there appears to be good 
reason to believe that the velocity in the jetty channel will be 
amply suflficient to scour out and carry over lialf a mile out to 
sea, the sand, of which the bar is comijoscd. e\'(Jn at the low water 
season. 

The I'atuca River is a sediment bearing stream, its ratio of 
sediment being 1-420 by weight, which is large. The observations 
for sediment were made at a mean stage of the river at Patuca, 
and are a mean of 30 observations, half of which were taken at 
the surface and half T foot above the bottom. The mean of the 
surface observation was .00225()442 and of the bottom .002522168. 

The following table gives the ratio of sediment in some other 
rivers : 

Name of River. A'olume. ^^'eight. 

^Vlississippi 1/3000 1/1523 

Irawaddy flood 1/1700 

Irawadd\-, low 1/5725 

Rhine, flood i/ioo 1/51 

Rhine, low 1/200 1/20734 

Yellow of China 1/200 1/102 

Po (Italv) i/ioo 1/51 

Danube (Austria) low 1/1609 

Danube (Austria) flood 1/817 

Alersey, tidal flood 1/1414 

Mersey, tidal ebb 1/728 

Average of all rivers, according to Alanfredi. . 1/175 1/89 

19 



The sounding- lead disclosed several patches of mud deposited 
on the ocean floor. (See Chart of Patuca River mouth). These 
extend from just outside the bar to the 4-fathom line, and a short 
distance bevond, and mostly lay in the bight formed by the bar 
and the east shore line. Their location there may be owing to 
the fact, as mentioned in my preliminary report, that the river 
formerly discharged into this bight. There is also one deposit in 
the middle of the harbor in a depth of 10 feet of water. 

SEDDIEXT. 

These deposits are not extensive enough to occasion any ap- 
prehension from that source in the future, although the sediment 
brought down by the river amounts to the respectable sum of 
68,281,243 cubic yards per annum, sufficient to cover an area of 
22 square miles 3 feet deep. A large part of it is of so fine and 
floculent a nature, that it is carried many miles away and dis- 
persed in the sea. This is proved by the fact thit the oit-shore 
contours at the mouth of the river do not present any abnormal 
curves, as they would do if the material brought down b}- the 
river were all dropped on the ocean floor in front of the bar, 
which would result- in forcing the curves out to sea over a fan- 
shaped area in front of the mouth, owing to the deposit of mate- 
rial. On the contrary, the curves are perfectly regular and par- 
allel to the shore. 

SURA^EY. 

The survey of the harbor was commenced on August iQth and 
completed September 12th. including latitude and magnetic ob- 
servations. Twenty-nine and one-half miles of soundings were 
run, 21 triangular statiojis established and marked with iron bolts 
and all angles repeated (5) five times on each vernier, and means 
taken, all angles being checked by computation of triangles. 

All soundings were taken on time signals and every fifth cast 
of the lead was signalled by a flag and was located by intersecting 
angles from two transits on shore. The soundings were carried 
out 1.75 miles from shore in order to develop the littoral contours 
and discover any coral or other ledges that might exist, and the 
character of the bottom, as shown by the lead, was noted and is 
shown on the accompanxing chart of the river mouth. All sound- 
ings not otherwise si)ecified are sand bottom. 

A minute topngra])hical survey was taken of the shore, and 
levels f)f the grnund taken at se\-eral iilaces in the village, above 
mean liigh w.'iter and slmwn (m ihe ma]) in red figures. 

20 



TIDE. 

Four tide gauges were set up and connected Ijy a line of accu- 
rate levels and also referred to permanent bench marks. The 
tides were observed tlirouiib one lunation and found to bave an 




Pine Tree on Bank of Fatica River. 

interval, between high and low water, of 5 hours and 48 minutes, 
with a mean rise of 10 inches and an extreme of 1.50 feet. 

The tidal curves are much influenced by the wind and the state 
of the sea outside and are verv irregular and the observations 



31 



should be extended over at least 12 months to establish accurately 
the mean ordinates of the ascending" and descending nodes. 

The force and directions of the currents were noted at 16 
places on the bar, and outside, and 3 cross sections were measured 
at the gorge and 34 float-runs made, with 231 instrumental 
observations for course and velocity with sub-surface floats. 

Repeated observations were made at Station M, Patuca village, 
for latitude, longitude, time and magnetic declination, and also at 
the head of the Pass (Toom Toom Creek), at Cropunto and 
Oualpitanti, at the three last places with a sextant and at Patuca 
with a solar transit. 

RIVER REGIMEN AT THE MOUTH. 



WIDTH OF RIVER. 

BAR. 

The width of the mouth of the river is 3,750 feet, or over ^ 
of a mile, while the width of tlie gorge is 670 feet. The crest 
of the bar is a semi-circle and measures 7,000 feet, or over 1^4 
miles, and encloses a sector of 180° on a radius of about 2,500 
feet. The river is now discharging over this crest a sheet of 
water about i foot in depth, except in the main channel, where 
for a width of about ^ of a mile the depth varies from 3 feet at 
the edges to 5.5 feet in the center at low water. The width of 
the west swash channel is about 270 feet and the depth 2.6 feet. 
The east swash channel is about 600 feet wide and 3 feet deep. 
There are also two other small channels as shown on the chart. 

SAND AIOVE^^IEXT. 

The bar is composed of coarse sand and at one point is above 
water at ordinarv high tide. The race along the east beach is 
constantly bringing sand from the eastward and building out the 
east point, which in the last 8 years has been extended in this 
manner, 400 feet, if we may credit the statements of the Indians 
and others who have been familiar with the locality for many 
years. Tlie prevailing winds here are from the east and south- 
east, and the waves strike the beach to the eastward of the river 
mouth at an angle of about 45° and less, and so every wave 
moves its f|unta of sand to tlio west. This is easily pn^ved by 
observation. \\';uliiig into ilu- surf Ikto. as I did, the sand is 

22 



seen rapidlx niovini^' altjiig- the IjoUdih towards luisl IVMiit. with 
a measured velocity of about i mile per hour. This is especially 
ncjticeable in the afternoon, when the wind almost invariably 
blows briskly frtjm tlie eastward. In the niiiin the wind is ij^en- 
crally ofif shore and in the early morning- and during the hrst 
half of the forenoon it is almost always calm. 

(3BJECT OF JhyiTlI-.S. 

The bar, as shown on chart, forms a semicircular rim, en- 
closing the harbor basin with the water running over the rim, 
and deeper in some ])laces than others. This rim, or wier, 
mea.sures something more than lo times the width of the river 
at the gorge and the result is a dimunition of the velocity at 
the bar, from 2.57 feet per second mean velocity to a bottom 
\'elocity of about 1.63. or about 20 per cent, less, in the swiftest 
current of the main channel, and of course less at other places 
(•n the bar. The object of the contraction works on the bar 
is to increase the velocity up to that which obtains in the gorge 
■.\\\(\ so cause the same cpiantity of water, which now s]>reads 
out over a sector of 7,000 feet, with a greatly retarded \elocity, 
owing to friction on the bottom, to be so confined that it will 
be forced to cut for itself a channel with a cross section similar 
lo that at the gorge. 

\\"( )RK.S l'U( )['()Sl-:i). 

To acciMn])lish this result it is proposed to construct two 
jetties with a total length of 5.040 feet, converging from the 
shore to the foot outside contour, where they will be 700 
feet apart and the direction of the resulting channel will l)e 
N. 30° 45' E. 

EAST ji:ttv. 

The concession from the (io\ernment of Honduras requires 
a channel sufficient to admit steamers drawing eleven feet at 
low water. The present channel is 5.5 feet deep at low water 
and T have located the jetties, one on each side of this channel, 
wdiicli has the same course as the proposed jetty channel. 
The east jetty will start from east point and run X. 1° 30' W. 
(true) along the inside of the crest of the bar for a distance 
of 2,230 feet to a point of curvature, thence on a 4° curve to 
the eastward, radius 1,432.69 feet, 690 feet more, to the 9-foot 
contour outside, on the southern edge of the present main 

33 



channel, the total length being 2,920 feet, of -which 50 feet is 
built on the shore of east point, This jetty will be built in a 
depth of water ranging from 9 feet at low water, at the end, 
to 3 feet in the swash channel close to the point and varying 
along its length from 6 feet to a little less than 3 feet, accord- 
ing to the depths that obtained at the time of the survey. 
Except at the outer end, it will lie entirely inside of the line of 
breakers, which will expend their force on the protecting sand 
bar outside. 

The foreshore of protecting bar will average 300 feet in 
width, on which there will not be over 4}^ feet of water at 
extreme high tide. 

PROTECTION OF JETTY. 

From the fact of the continuous deposits of sand now build- 
ing out East Point, and the "Law of the Deposits of the Flood 
Tide," demonstrated by the late Rear Admiral Davis, and pub- 
lished in the Smithsonian contributions to knowledge, and 
from the fact of the construction cutting off the currents that 
now sweep around the point and across the crest of the bar, 
it will be seen that in the proposed location we will be assist- 
ing nature to build up the littoral cordon and prolong the east 
point, and it is believed that the forces of nature, thus aided, 
will, in a comparatively short time, cover the jetty for jA or % 
of its length Avith a wide protecting deposit of sand brought 
from the east beach, thus insuring the permanency of the 
work, and that eventually the bight to the eastward of the 
jetty will fill up, extending the foreshore several hundred feet. 
This has always been my experience with nnn}' similar works 
that T liave built, under like conditions, llie sand covering 
will ])rotcct the work from the sea worms, if any exist here. 

SEA WORMS. 

1 do not, however, anticipate any trouble from worms, as at 
all limes exccjit the season of dr\- weather, which lasts but 
one or two nionlhs, there is no salt water in the harbor. The 
amoimt of di^cliarge and strem^tli of the current of the river 
is sucli lliat no salt water can force ;ni entr'inc',\ 1 found the 
water jiotable ' _. mile (hU to sea. :\]u\ tlie boatmen emj^loyed 
in somiding dijipcd the watrr ni) in tli'ir calal^ashes from over 
the side of the lioat and (lr;ink ii in all jKirts o\ the harbor and 
outside the bar. It i^ well known that fresh water kills the 
sea worms. During the (lr\- season the water in the harbor 

24 



is brackish for one or two months. If the worms should attack 
tlie piles then, they would 1)e killed immediately b\- the return 
of the fresh water. When these sea worms be.i^in iheir attack 
on wood, they are very minute in size, not larger than the point 
of a pin, and the holes they make in the wood are inconse- 
quental, and it is believed that the returning fresh water will 
kill them before they can do any damage. In order to be on the 
safe side, however, it is proposed to use Botan. Quassia, Pal- 
metto, Ebo or Ouiebrahacha. Fustic or Guiacan, which are 
said to be practically immunj from them, or to treat the wood 
with Carbolineum .Vvenarium. 

The jetty will be built by driving two parallel rows of piles 
2 feet apart from center to center in the rows, and capped with 
cross caps at mean low water of 8" x 8" harrl pine, cvcrv 4th 
pile, making the bays 8 feet long. 

.MODh: OF CO.XSTRL'CTIOX. 

On these ca])s arc l)()hed and sira])ped longitudinal stringers 
of hard pine 8" x 8". as shown on ])lans. The distance between 
the outside rows will \ary. commencing with 2 feet on the 
shore, which widens to 4 feet at the low water mark and so 
continues widening by 2 feet at a time as the dej^th increases 
or the ex]:)osure becomes more, until the last section is reached 
at the outer end. the width of which is 18 feet. When the 
width reaches 14 feet, a middle line of string pieces is intro- 
duced, as sliown on i)l;in. and more piles are i)laced under the 
cross caps in the outer end section. The space betw^een the 
outer rows of piles is filled with r>amboo logs, of which there 
is an inexhaustible sup]ily up the river, up to mean low water. 
and these are capped with 2 feet of rip-rap rock, which brings 
the top of the rock about 8" above extreme high water. From 
the shore end out to a width of 14 feet the bottom layers of 
Bamboo logs will be laid transversely and projecting 6 to 8 
feet alternately from the side of the jetty, to serve as an apron 
and sand catcher. The rest of the logs will be laid longi- 
tudinally and inclined as shown on plans, in order that they 
may bind better. Fvery Bamboo log will have, when laid, a 
hole cut in the top of the middle of each two joints, about an 
inch in diameter, for the purpose of admitting Avater and sand. 

Anyone who has walked a sandy sea beach cannot fail to 
have noticed that every barrel, box or other receptacle that had 
a hole in it, was iilled up to the water level with sand, and it 
is also noticeable in all wrecks, so it has come to be an axiom 
that sand will go wherever water will. It is believed that the 

25 



constant action of the waves, washing the sand around and 
over the jetty, will shortly fill vrith sand all these hollow bam- 
boo logs, making virtually a protected sar.d jetty. These 
bamboo logs will then resemble the loaded facines of grund- 
swellen wdiich arc so largely used in dykes and submerged 
dams in the improvements of rivers in (lermany. 

CE.AIEXTED BAMBOO LOGS. 

It is probable also that tbe logs and rock will soon be cov- 
ered vrith shell fish, such as oysters, muscles, clams, univalves, 
sea snails, and small conchs, which will cement the whole 
firmly together. This has alwa}'s been lu}- experience on other 
works. 

The bamboo contains a very large proportion of silica, and 
these logs being ahvays under v\'ater, w'ill never decay. Up 
the river I noticed bamboo logs projecting from the bank some 
4 to ft feet below the top of the ground and a couple of feet 
abo^•e the water at that time. The bank was composed of 
river alluvium which had been deposited so many years ago 
that trees 1 8 to 20 inches in diameter had grown upon it. thus 
shoAving the lasting character of the bamboo wood. From the 
14-foot width to sea end of jettv. the bamboo logs are laid in 
alternate layers transverse, and longitudinal, so as to give side 
slopes of I to 3 feet, as shown on plan (Sheet 5). the slopes 
and top being covered with 2 feet of rip-rap rock and the ex- 
treme sea end having the same slope and being protected with 
the same amount of rock, held in place by two rows of piles 
driven on the same slope and projecting i foot above the rock, 
these piles to be driven below- low- water by means of a fol- 
lower and forming a cJiC'cXtl dc frisc. 

. AVATER JET PILE DRR'IX'G. 

All the ])ilcs in the jetties will he driven by means of a water 
jet. which method is peculiarly well adapted to this w^ork. 
The pile driver will be motmted and rolled along on the longi- 
tudinal stringers and so made and counterweighted with the en- 
gine and boiler as to overhang 8 feet in front, to allow tlie 
bents to be driven 8 feet in advance of each other. The bar. 
on wdiich the jetties are located, is composed of sand built up 
on the floor of the ocean by the combined ojiposing forces of 
the river and sea. The piles should be driven butt end down 
to opj)ose more resistance to being jiulled up by the wave.s. 
This is perfectly feasible with the water jet. 

26 



The west jetty will he built in the same manner as the east 
jett\- and of the same materials. The shore end will be located 
725 feet south of Patuca I'oint, as it was when the survey was 
made, and will run strait^ht X. S5° 45' E. (trtte), 2,120 feet to 
the 9-foot, outside contour. The shore end of the jetty will 
be 2 feet wide and 50 feet long, built in the beach, same as the 
other, and the sea end 18 feet wide. The de])th of water in 
whicli this iett\ will l)e Iniill will averacfe about ^ feet at low 




1'akt or THE F<ii;( !•; at tiik Pi, antatiux. 



water, and it will be protected, except at the sea end, bv the 
sand bank and bar on the north, the foreshore being from 1,000 
to 1.700 feet, on wdiich there is not over 4^4 feet of water at 
extreme high tide, so the waves will lireak on the outer bar and 
expend their force long before thev reach the work. Part of 
this foreshore is now above ordinarv high tide and it is 
believed that the action of the waves will pile up the sand so 

27 



as to make a dry beach from Patuca Point to near the end of 
the jetty, when the outflowing currents are cut off by the 
works. Indeed it was reported to me by some of the American 
residents there, that at times past a dry sand spit had extended 
from Patuca Point to the "Sand Bank" shown on the chart, 
and ]\[r. AA'ood's survey shows a sand bank making out, at low 
water, in the same direction, showing an evident attempt on 
the part of nature, to close the west swash and little channels, 
which our jetty as I have located it, will assist. 

These river iDars on a sandy coast are always changeable until 
nature is assisted. There is a constant warfare going on between 
the forces of the river and those of the waves and littoral cur- 
rents, the latter unceasingly endeavoring to build up and pre- 
serve the littoral cordon and the former endeavoring to break 
through it. 

It is only when the currents are guided and the conflicting 
forces harmonized by properly constructed works, that the regi- 
men cf the river is preserved and stability insured. 

GALX'ESTOX JETTIES. 

The success of properly constructed jetties in making and main- 
taining navigable channels in such cases is now too well known 
and established all along the coasts cf the United States and in 
numerous foreign localities to need mention here. I might, how- 
ever, mention Galveston, Tex. In 1893 the channel across the bar 
was but 13 feet deep. In 1897 it was 24 feet, and 1899 26 feet, 
the eflfect of the construction of converging jetties. In 1894 but 
$2,500 w^orth of corn passed through the port. In 1898 there were 
shipped 5,400,000 bushels. In 1895 tliere was no wheat. In 1898 
the shipments of wheat alone amounted to 11,200.000 bushels. 
P)efore 1896. the tctal value of all ex])orts never exceeded $36,- 
000,000 i)er annum. In 1898 they were $77,000,000. In i88r, I 
laid out the jetties at the mouth of the St. lohn's River, Elorida. 
and \vas in charge of their construction for the Ignited States 
( loverrn'cnt, where there was liul 12 teot of water on the bar. 
In 188S there was 21 feet, and ibis result might have been 
achieve 1 in two years bad il n t he:n for the dilatory and waste- 
ful action of the Ciovernment in loleing out the appropriations. 

In i8S(( 1 laid out tlie jellies al ihe mouth of the San Juan 
l\i\er in Xicaragna. llie easlern end of llio Xicaragua Canal, 
turning;- llie riwr current ricross a (lr\- sand liank 3 feet high 
alN>\(.' oi<iinar\ high water, and in o months aflerwai"ds schooners 
drawini^- i.' f' et l)a-^-^e(l ihri uliIi llu' new channel into the harbor. 



Tn 1882 I was in charge as engineer of the cnnstruction of jet- 
ties for the L'nited States Government at \'ahisia Uar. Lake 
(Je(jrge, and later had a contract for their completion. Here the 
water was deepened from 4>^ feet to 6 feet, all that the class of 
boats using the lake ref|nired. 

OTHER SUCCESSFUL Jl-TTIES. 

Similar good results have been obtained at Xewhuryport, 
Charleston, Savannah. Aransas Pass, Texas. r)razos and Sabine 
Rivers, the !\Iississii)pi. the Columbia, the Danube, the Schwine- 
niiinde ITaff, and would have been at Cumberland Sound, where 
] laid out jetties in 1S82. bad Ufit the funds been misappropriated. 

In fact I do not know of a single case where jetties, scienti- 
ficallv located and j>ro])erly built, have failed in their mission. 
1 he success of the ^Mississippi jetties and the phenomenal growth 
of the ship])ing business of Xew ( )rleans, immediately after, is 
well known to every one. 

The planning and location of jetties is very important. The 
shortest and most direct line from the gorge to deep water out- 
side nmst always be chosen, consistent with the following re- 
f|uirements. and the new jetty channel should be so located as to 
debouch in the sea, where the steepest contour is found for sev- 
eral reasons among which are : 

Tst. Steep contours generally are caused bv a littoral current, 
which is very desirable, as it will sweep away the sediment 
brought down by the river and effectually dispose of the question 
of bar advance. 

2c\. The location marked by steep contours, even if no littoral 
current exists, will render the necessity of jetty extension less 
probable. Jetties should never debouch into a bight, but should 
always be carried out to the point of the salient angle. 

They should always be so located as to assist nature in forming 
the most natural channel and in building up the spits or natural 
moles that nature is attempting, as shown by comparative sur- 
veys, extended if possible over a period of several vears. For 
this purpose a critical comparison of all former charts of the 
localitv should be made. 

Jetties should always be located as nearly parallel as possible. 
because converging jetties that approach each other at a large 
angle, produce counter currents and whirls that not only make the 
bottom very lumpv. but also endanger the stability of their own 
foundations and encourage the formation of a new bar outside 
their mouth. In such cases it is better to make right angled off- 

29 



sets in the jett}-, if they cannot be planned with suitable curves, 
so as to project the trace over the bar. as nearly parallel as pos- 
sible. 

DIRECTION OF JETTIES. 

It is also desirable to so plan the jetties that the channel shall 
not face the prevailing winds or at all events the direction from 
which come the heav}- storms, in order to preserve tranquility in 
the harbor and prevent the washing in of sand during severe 
storms, and also to facilitate sailing vessels passing in and out,, 
which they cannot do in a narrow channel except on a beam or 
leading wind. 

When converging jetties are located approaching each other 
at too large an angle, they have a tendency, like a dam, to raise 
the water and so lessen the hydraulic grade from the gorge to 
the contraction in the jetties and this tends to a deposit in the 
fairway above the contraction, especially during the construction 
of the works and before the jetty channel has obtained its normal 
regimen or depth. It is often necessary to drag the fairway with 
heavy looped chains from a tug-boat, or to stir up the bottom with 
a water jet, and allow the current to sweep the deposits away. 
It is often found to be efficacious to weight the tug-boat at the 
stern and back up the channel with the screw revolving as close 
to the bottom as possible. 

DREDGING. 

After the works are completed and the proper depth corre- 
sponding to the velocity and discharge has been established 
across a bar from deep water inside to corresponding deep water 
outside, the hydraulic grade is rendered more nearly uniform 
and the tendency to a diminution of the velocity and consequent 
deposition of suspended sediment has. ceased and no more trouble 
need be apprehended. In our case the distance between the 
i2-foot contours is 2,i8o feet, with a cut on the crest of the 
bar of 6.5 feet to give the required depth of 12 feet at low 
water, and requiring the removal of <)0.537 cubic yards of sand 
and mud for a 300-foot channel, to whicli it is projier to add 
20 per cent, for wash from the sides, making a total of 108,644 
cubic \ards. It is believed that much the largest part of this 
material will be swept out to sea upon the completion of the 
contraction works, and an expenditure of about $1,000 in drag- 
ging the channel will suffice to clear out the rest. 

In laying out the jetties it is of the greatest importance to 

30 



proportion the distance Ijetwetn them correctl}. This is a matter 
of mathematical computation 1)y well established formulrc. which 
are g'iven in the ap])endix. 

If the jetties arc placed too close to.^ether the hydraulic grade 
line is raised, owing- to the inability of the water to escape 
promptly, and deposits are likel\' to occur in the fairway as pre- 
\-iously exjDlained. The stabilit\- ( f the works is also endangered 
by the excessive scour created, which may undermine them. 

DISTAXCI-: APART. 

Dn the other Iiand. if the jetties are too far apart, the current 
will be too feeble, for want of concentration, and will be unable 
to keep the channel clear. It is better, however, to have them 
too far a])art, rather than too clcsc together, because if too close 
together, they are liable to ruin, but if too far apart, the matter 
can be easily remedied, as was done at the Mississip])i by l)uilding 
groynes or perpendicular jiiers on each side, which will contract 
tli.c available water wa}- and cause the n.ecessary scour to take 
place. These groynes can also be used if current should im- 
pinge against a part of the work and ihrealen to undermine it, 
or if groynes should be objectionable on account of contracting 
the water way too much. a])ron mattresses can l)e used, made 
of logs and papta or other brush (see ])lan ) and sunk to the 
bottom along side the jetty, by throwing on stone. Tliis mat- 
tress will lay on the bottom and prevent further scour. 

( )n account of the danger of scour and undermining, it is some 
times best to hK^ate the jetty in deep water, although at very 
greatly increased cost, because if built on top of a high bank or 
shallow the changed conditions when a deep channel is formed 
alongside of it leaves it without foundations. 

This can be remedied, however, if closely watched, by sinking 
protecting apron mattresses alongside the work before the scour 
has done any damage, and this is very much more economical 
and is better practice. 

PRECAUTIOXS. 

The matter of the utmost importance, however, in all sub- 
aqueous works, is to watch it assiduously every day and test the 
depths carefully with the lead line or pole, and on the first in- 
timation of giving way or undue scour, to rush forward the re- 
serve mattresses^ instanter, otherwise it may easily cost $10,000 
to repair the damages dene in 48 hours. Of equal importance 

31 



is it not to commence any jetty construction until all the funds, 
material and appliances required to complete them are on hand 
and instantly available, because if work of this character is left 
in an unfinished and unprotected state, it is exposed to destruc- 
tion in the first heavy storm. ^Moreover, while construction is 
going on the regimen of the river is unsettled, new currents are 
created with changeable courses and varying power. Xew chan- 
nels are apt to form around the exposed ends of the work, or to 
break through and destroy if unfinished. Wq may thus find an 
entirely different problem presented when work is resumed, re- 
quiring an entire modification of the treatment. The sand may 
be so washed away in front of our work, or pot holes may be 
found, as to require 500 times as much more material per 100 
feet section than before. I have known the bottom to be cut 
away from the side of an unfinished jetty from 18 to 50 feet in 
two weeks, requiring a year to repair the damages. And this has 
been the customary history with harbor works in the United 
States because of the niggardness of Congress in granting ap- 
propriations and the long waits for money. This is now happily 
remedied by the Congress in later years making continuing 
appropriations at first for the completion of the work. For 
these reasons the immense cost of River and Harbor Works in 
the United States is proverbial, and works have necessarily been 
made far more massive than would otherwise liave been neces- 
sirv, in order that they might be saved from destruction in the 
periods of suspended work. 

PRACTICABILITY. 

In concluding this part of my report, I will repeat what I 
stated in my first report; i. c. the improvement of this bar to 
obtain a depth of 12 feet and even more is entirely practical and 
easy of accomplishment. It is probable that if the works are car- 
ried out as planned, that a depth of 18 to 20 feet will be obtained 
through the crest of the bar, but some dredging may be necessary 
to obtain this depth in the middle of the harbor. 

FA\'()RAr,LE C( )xnrrT()xs. 

In fact, all the conditions are favorable to success here. The 
Caribbean Sea is generally placid and hurricanes are almost un- 
known. There is almost an entire al)sence of ground swell. 
The Xorthers that blow in the winter three or four times for a 
period of three or four days each, have expended most of their 

32 




33 



force in the Gulf of Mexico, and by the time they have readied 
the Xorth coast of Honduras, have nearly died out. The sea here 
is practically tideless, with only an outflowing' current from the 
harbor, and consecjuently no complication of currents and deposits 
caused by flood tides. These conditions are the most favorable. 
i. e., where rivers debouch into practically tideless seas, such as 
the Danube, the Mississippi and the jetties at Tampico, Mexico; 
the Brazos River, Aransas Pass and Galveston, Texas, and 
others. The configuration of the bar here is such that the jetties 
can be located behind protecting moles of sand, thus allowing the 
smallest dimensions to be used, and the fact that the tide does not 
rise high to cover these banks renders them a perfect protection to 
the works inside. There being no inflowing current, the water 
in the harbor is fresh for lo months in the year, and consequently 
the danger from sea worms is reduced to a minimum. Plenty 
of timber abounds on the river banks, and suitable rock in abund- 
ance can be easily obtained in Brewer's Lagoon 28 miles to the 
westward. There is no ice, with its immense lifting power, to 
draw up the piles and destroy the work. Labor is very cheap 
and abundant, and the climate is healthy. Food is cheap and 
fish and game abound. The bamboo grows in the greatest luxuri- 
ance up the river, as well as the long-leaved pine and innumerable 
other first-class woods. The advantages of the use of the bam- 
boo in the jetties in the manner I have described are the following: 

HEAVY. 

1st. When filled with wet sand it is much heavier than solid 
wood, pine logs, for instance, weighing 65 ll)s. per cubic foot, 
and rip-rap gneiss rock from 96 to 100 lbs. when loosely piled, 
as it would be when thrown on the jetty, while wet sand weighs 
1 18 to 129 lbs. 

2nd. — Sand, when confined, makes the most solid and dur- 
able of foundations. 

^rd. — IJamboo logs are ver\- light, easily cut and handled 
rmd under water are practicall\- imixM-ishalile. 

4th. — Thev can lie jirocured for alinut 10c. a piece as against 
5()c. for other logs. 

JF.TT^' F.XTKX.^TOX. 

'IMiis (|UCstion can only he definitely settled by investigation 
of the facts regarding the existence or non-existence of littoral 
oirrents off the mouth of the pro])osed channel. 

I do not, however, anticipate any trouble from this score for 

84 



ilic next 25 years at least, if the jetties are built as now plan- 
ned and located, on account of the fact, as shown by the off 
sliore hydrography delineated by my survey, that the contours 
do not indicate any area of deposit outside the bar. but on the 
contrary they exhibit regular curves, without swelling. In the 
first days of jetty construction on the coast of the United 
States pessimistic prophets were not wanting who predicted 
the utter and speedy failure of all jettying of sediment bearing 
river mouths from deposits brought down 1)\' them and de- 
])Osited in front. It was predicted that the .Mississi])pi jetties 
Avould have to be extended several miles in less than 25 
}'ears, "fhey ha\-e now been in operation nearly 30 years and 
no extension whatever has been re(|uired. 

Xone of these alarming prophecies have been fulfilled in 
other cases. The "Law of Deposit of the Flood Tide," previ- 
ously referred to. shows that everything movable thrown into 
the sea is taken up and deposited on the beaches. In our case 
the courses of the floats seem to show the existence of a cir- 
cular movement to the east of the bar. the outflowing current 
sweepmg round to the east and south and back again uji the 
beach to the bar (see Chart of River .Mouth) depositing its 
material along the beach and in the extension of East Point. 
It is possible, that the growth of this point along the East Jetty 
may necessitate the extension of the same a few hundred feet, 
after the re-entrant angle of the beach is filled up to near the 
chord from the end of the jetty to near Sta. 8. or a little 
beyond, but this will be a matter of several years, in all ])rob- 
ability. But new conditions Avill arise upon the completion 
of the jetties, so that it is impossible to predict with certainty, 
until the action of the completed work can be Avatched for 
some six or tweh-e months. 

ORDER OF OPERATIONS. 

The work on the bar should be commenced at the close of 
the period of the northers, and be pushed with the greatest 
possible rapidity. 

SAFEGUARDS. 

All the material should be on hand and all the lumber cut 
ready for use before beginning" work, as delay after work has 
commenced entails greatly increased cost and is sometimes 
well nigh fatal to success. Construction should be commenced 
on the beach, on the East jetty, by driving the piling and cap- 

35 



ping" it, afterwards putting in the log filling and topping with 
rip-rap. When 800 feet of the East Jetty has been completed, 
construction should be commenced on the West Jett\' and 
thereafter both should be carried on simultaneously to the 
end, two separate crews and pile drivers being employed. I 
consider this of the first importance. Indeed, upon it hinges 
the success of the work. By this method the currents are 
gradually concentrated towards the final channel and the 
scour initiated in the right direction. Indeed, by this proceed- 
ure it is quite possible and I may say probable, that 12 feet 
will be obtained in the channel some time before the 9-foot 
contour is reached, thus aft'ording a large saving in the length 
of the most exposed and costly part of the work, obtaining the 
results hoped for much sooner and allowing us to end the 
jetties in a more protected situation behind the bar. where the 
stability of the heads is more assured. ( )n the other hand, if 
through false economy, only one pile driver is furnished, and 
one jetty has to be built first, new currents and forces are 
created and nearly double the quantity of water is forced 
across the site of the other jetty, eroding the bottom int,o 
gullies and holes, to fill which will augment the cost im- 
mensely and retard the completion of the work. AA'orking on 
one jetty alone, we may easily go too far. as we discover later, 
when building the other, with the result that the resulting 
channel will have an entirely different course from that origin- 
ally planned, thus complicating the question of jetty extension 
and perhaps leaving the harbor open to the heavy swells. On 
the other hand we may stop our jetty too soon, to take up 
work on the other and find when we return to it, that it is 
dangerously undermined and the contours may be so radically 
changed as to require a relocation. 

ESTIMATE OF COST OF JETTIES. 

In making these estimates I have used r(^ck-bottom prices, 
which may appear too low for some, l)ut they are prices at 
which, I know from personal experience, the materials in 
question can be furnished. In 1885. when I had the contract 
with the U. S. Government to build the A'alusia Bar jetties, I 
bought yellow pine logs for piles 30 feet long, 15 inches diameter 
in the middle, pointed at one end and squared at the other, rafted 
down to the jetty, for 50 cents a piece and labor is $1.00 per 
day in Florida, against $12.00 per month in Honduras, but the 
former is better labor, althougli not enough better to make up 
the difference. 

86 



1 ha\c estimated luniljer at $6.00 per 'Si board measure. 
'Jliat is the axerage cost of making- the same class of lumber 
in Florida. Men who have been in the business in Honduras 
tell me it can be made here for $5.00. To purchase it in Pen- 
sacola would cost $12.00 per M with $5.00 more for charter 
])arty and $2.50 per M for loading and same for unloading 
besides cost of insurance. 

Regarding bamboo logs : — being hollow they are easily cut 
and handled. In 1880 1 was offered Cabbage Palmeito logs 
for the jetties of the Haulover Canal, Florida, of which I was 
the engineer, at loc. a piece, in lo-foot lengths, which would 
w eigh more and be harder to handle, as they would not float, 
than bamboo, which are very buoyant, the interior being per- 
fectly hollow, and filled only with air, without any pith. I 
have estimated carefully the time and labor rec|uired in cutting 
and rafting them down the river at Patuca and believe that the 
cost will not exceed 10 cents each. 

As to rip rap rock, in 1881 to 1884. when I was the Govern- 
ment Engineer in charge of the construction of jetties at Fort 
Clinch. Florida, and at St. John's river, Florida, and at Cum- 
l)erland Sound. Ga.. gneiss and granite rock was purchased by 
the contractor in New York and \ew London. Conn., for 
$1.00 to $1.25 per cubic yard, delivered on the ships rail at 
Fernandina or ^laA'port and I have no doubt but that my 
estimate of 55c. at Patuca. for rock from Cannon Island, in 
Brewer's Lagoon, where it is abundant and easy of access, will 
be found ample. I have estimated the iron at Xew York 
])rices, and added a separate lump item for freight. 

The cost of driving and capping is the customary charge for 
that work, as is the 2^ ])er cent, charge for labor, which in- 
cludes towing. 

These estimates are based on the supposition that the works 
are built according to the plans presented and all material is 
supplied in advance of construction and sufficient money pro- 
^•ided to carry the work through, wdien once begun, without 
stop]:)age and that no accidents, distructive storms or strikes 
occur, necessitating repairs or protection, and that the plan of 
operations is pursued as herein outlined. 

COST OF EAST JETTA^ 

3,069 ]Mles at 50C. (average 22 feet long $1,534.50 

82 A! ft. lumber at $6.00 4Q2.00 

i2,6qo lbs. straps (3" x 40" x ^4") at .0225 285.52 

i^-3,xS ^^^^- T ^4 square drift bolts at .0025 412.49 

37 



8729 lbs. 6" spikes at .025 218.22 

3445 cubic yards rip rap rock at 55c 1,894.75 

22,000 bamboo logs (average 50 ft. long at loc 2,200.00 

25 cubic yards earthwork (trench) at 50c 12.50 

1 day beacon 5.00 

2 barrels pitch at $2.00 4.00 

Cost of East Jetty material $7,058.98 

Driving, capping and stringing 3,069 piles at $3.00. . . . 9,207.00 
Labor 25% of cost of material 1,764.25 

$18,030.73 
Superintendence and engineering, 10% 1,803.07 

Total cost of East Jetty $19,833.80 

COST OF WEST JETTY. 

2,221 piles average 22 ft. long) at 50c $1,110.50 

50 ft. lumber 8" x 8") at $6.00 300.00 

8,407 lbs. straps (}i" x 3" x 40") at .0225 189.16 

11,477 lbs. iJ4" drift bolts at .0225 ^=,8.27, 

5,845 lbs. 6" spikes at .025 146.15 

1,983 8 ou. yds. rip rap rock at 55c 1,001.09 

16,000 bamboo logs (average 50 ft. long) at loc. . . . i,6oo.oo 

25 cu. yards earthwork (trench) at 50c 12.50 

2 barrels pitch at $2.00 4.00 

I day beacon 500 

Cost of West Jetty material $4,716.63 

Cost of A^^est Jett}^ material (brought forward) 6.663.00 
Lal)or 25% of cost of material t .1 70.16 

$12,558.79 
Superintendence and engineering, 10% 1.255.88 

Total cost West Jetty $13,814.67 

Totol cost East Jetty T().833.8o 

Both Jetties $33,648.47 

BUOYS, MUSHROOM ANCHORS .WD BF.ACOXS. 

Day beacons will be required on each jetty at the sea end. 
These will be ver\' inexpensi\'e and lia\e been estimated for 
in the jetty estimate. A day l)eacr)n will als(i be required on 
the 5 ft. shoal just below llu- ( iorge I'dinl. near where the 

38 



lower cross section was taken. This will consist of a cluster 
i)f 3 piles driven tofjether with l)cards nailed on the top. Just 
how many channel buoys will he re(|uired cannot be known 
until the jetties are finished and the channel has formed. 
I'r()])ably not oxer three (3). but I ha\'e estimated for one 
s])are one. Tluse buoys will consist simi)ly of liiiht cedar 
s])ars, red for 'Starboard side (enterinjj) and white for ])ort 
side. Thex' will be about 1-, feet lonu'. ironed at tlu* lower end 




I'oMl'ANYS l^OATS AT I'aTLCA. 

and fastened to about 5 ft. of ^^" stud chain, which will be 
fastened to the anchor, \\hich should weigh not less than 500 
ll)s. The following' is the 

ESTHIATE. 

-J. s]iar l)uo}-s, j-tainted and ironed, at $12.00 $18.00 

20 feot of ?,s" stud chain — 72.4 lbs. at .10 7.24 

.4. mushroom anchors. 500 lbs each — 2,000 lbs. at .15 30.00 

Total cost of material 85.24 



Setting- same, tug boat, Jj day i.S-OO 

Engineering and Sup't, io% 10.03 

$110.27 

I day beacon in place 10.00 

Total cost ' $120.27 

DRAGGIXG CHAXXEL. 

This has been previously explained. 

I estimate tug boat 2 months, at $500.00 $1,000.00 



BRIXGIXG OUT TUG BOAT sav from 
XEAA' ORLEAXS. 

10 da}-s at $20.00 (including coal), towing lighter. . 200.00 
Pro^'isions. oil, waste and incidentals 50.00 

Total cost $250.00 

A^ESSELS REQUIRED. 

I sea going tug boat, propeller, for towing rock. . . . $6,000.00 

I river steamer, side or stern Avheel 2,500.00 

3 Amesl)urv dories 50.25 

I launch 850.00 

1 Seine-boat 1 12.00 

2 decked lighters (22 x 80 feet) for stone (to be built 

at Patuca i ,600.00 

Total cost $11,112.25 

The tug l)oat should b.e 14. x 14" cylinders, 125 H. P., with 
condenser. It will l)c rccpiired to tow two large lighters, 
loaded with 100 tons of rock each, from l^rewer's lagoon to 
the jetties and able with its tow, to stem the current of the 
river up to Patuca and should not draw o\er 5 feet. It can 
be sold as soon as the jetties arc com|)lcted. 

The river steamboat should l)e flat-bottomed, stern or side 
wheel. 60 or j^ feet l(^ng. and should not draw over 2 feet. 

It will be used during construclion of jetties to tow tlie 
rock lighters from Gannc^n Island to r)re\ver's Eagoon bar, 
where the tug boat will hook on to them. The water in the 
Eagoon channels through the oyster bars inside is rejiorted l)y 

40 



Mr. Wood to be only 5 feet. It is possible that a side-whee! 
tug boat can be found drawing only 43/2 feet, that is suffi- 
ciently strong to do the work required of her at the jetties, and 
in that case she could navigate right up to the quarry, and so 
obviate the necessity of another steamer. The river steam- 
boat, after the comjjletion of the jetties, would be brought to 
Patuca and used on the u])-river route, and for that service 
would be vvoodburning, with non-condensing, direct-acting en- 
gines, while the sea tug should be coal-burning with com- 
pound engines. I do not see how we can make one boat alone 
answer. The alco-vapor launch is 30 feet long and will be 
used daily in ins])octing the progress of work on the jetties, 
taking daily soundings on the bar and alongside and in advance 
of the work and will save its cost in a short time in the saving 
of time of officer and boatmen. 

If a rowboat should be used instead, it would require at 
least 4 good oarsmen, and none of those Indians know how to 
row, being accustomed only to the use of the ])a(ldle and their 
light cranky canoes, which are entirely unsuilecl for such work. 

Excn willi good oarsmen, llie force of ihc current is such, 
that iiuicli time would be lost in every return t'rip from the 
jetties, and with a strong head wind and current a row boat 
can liardK' stem it. 

The launch would also be wanted for a reserve boat, to 
carry the mail on u]) the river route, in case the regular 
steamer should be temporaril\- disabled, a contingency lialile 
to occur at any time. The naphtha launch is very much cheaper 
to run than a row boat. ( )ne of the lighters should be bought 
in the States and towed out by our tug boat, as it will be im- 
mediately needed to unload our freight on outside the bar and 
bring it up to the town, as the chartered vessel bringing it 
wouhl draw too much to enter the river. 

The other lighter should be built at Patuca as soon as the 
lumber for it can l)e cut. Two lighters will be required for 
the jetty work to l)ring the stone from Brewer's Lagoon, as 
one lighter can be left at the quarry to be loaded \vhile the 
other is beng towed to the jetties. In cases wdiere an apron 
mattress has to be set. two lighters, loaded with rock have to 
be used, one on each side of the mattress. The stone is thrown 
off by hand on to the mattress and it cannot be properly dis- 
tributed over the mat from one lighter. After the jetties are 
completed one lighter can be towed back to Xew Orleans by 
our returning tug boat and sold. 

41 



SAW MILL. 

In order that we c"n be able to build the jetties, buildings and 
liiiiuer rec|uired at ti c low cost estiniated, it is imperative for 
us. to cut our own lun.iber and for this purpose we should have 
a small saw-mill to suppl}' luir.]:er to the settlers during- all 
the time we are operating on the river. It would be much bet- 
ter for the Company to own this mill and run it in their own 
interest, to supply them first with the large amount of lumber 
required for their different constructions and also to receive 
an income from the sale of lumber, rather than to intrust this 
enterprise to another partv, wdiom the\- could not fully control. 

We shall also need for the finishing work of our houses a 
matcher and dresser, a wood lathe, a jig saw^ and a shingle 
cutter, all to be run by the same power. 

T consider that the best place to locate this mill will be at 
Rita Tara in the midst of the hard pine timber for the follow- 
ing reasons : 

1. Tt will reduce the length of the haul of the logs. 

2. By locating the mill at Rita Tara, we save the expense 
of making a log pen, which we would have to have if the mill 
was at Patuca to hold the log rafts while being cut uji. This 
log pen would cost $1,183.65 and none Avill be required at Rita 
Tara. 

3. By locating the mill at Rita Tara, we form the nucleus 
of a settlement and provide work for some of the settlers 
there. 

4. After the jetties, wharf and l)uildings are finished at 
Patuca, the demand for lumber will come from the vicinity 
of Rita Tara, for the houses, fences, etc.. of the colonists and 
it will be much easier to raft the little lumber re(|uired down to 
Patuca. than up to Rita Tara, and just as easy to raft dow^i the 
cut lumber as the logs, and the lumber would all be piled on 
shore at Patuca as soon as it arri\-ed and n(~) log pen recfuired 
for it. 

EST ni ATE. 

I Saw mill. 30 H. P. engine, boiler. 34-in. saw $2,500.00 

I matcher and dresser, jig saA\- and lathe 800. OO 

1 shingle cutter I75-00 

Setting up same 25.00 

Building log wa\ s 16.OO 

3 M. feel i'. I. lumber for mill shed, at $6.00 18.00 

10 M. shingles, at $6.00 60.00 

42 



Nails 4.00 

Labor 1 79.90 

Total $3-777-90 

BRICK, TILE and PI E'E YARD. 

The same remarks a])])ly to a Ijrick tile and pipe yard as to 
the saw mill. It should be located in the vicinity of Rita Tara, 
where plenty of clay abounds and will furnish labor for some 
of the colonists; capacity 2,000 brick or tile per day. Roof 
tiles can be made as chea])ly as shinp^les and the\- are ])raeti- 
call}' exerlastin^. tiles on some convents in Europe being' 
known to have been laid over 800 years. The}' also are a 
protection from Hr/ and are much cooler than either shingles 
or galvanized iron, and they cost )^? less than the latter and 
are very easily made. Machines are made that will make, 
brick, tile anfl i>il)e. 

ESTIMATE. 

Leveling and smoothing ott 'i> acre for yard S25.00 

I pug mill ( horse power) 1 50.00 

I kitchen, 6x8 2 1 .00 

I ofiRce do 21 .00 

I (|uarters, 18 x 14. lumber 2,247 ^^- 1^'- -^I-- ^^ S6.00. . i.^.oo 

Shingles or tiles 6.48 

Hardware, tinisbing, doors, sashs, etc 3605 

12 Eoundation posts, at 25c 3.00 

I Kiln shed 18 x 14, lumber, etc 12.17 

Drying do 36 x 28^ -4-34 

Labor, 25% 3?,-^^ 

$346.15 
Engineering and Sujierintendent 10% 34-62 

Total cost .$380.77 

LIME AXD CEMEXT KILX. 

Considerable quicklime and cement will be needed, as well 
as bricks and tile and will be sold also from time to time to 
the colonists. A lime kiln should be built at the mouth of 
Gualpitanti Creek, where a large ledge of excellent lime rock 
crops out on the right bank of Patuca River. 

43 



I stone kiln, 8 feet diam. outside lo ft. high, 

18.6 cu. yds. at $2.50 T. . $46.50 

I set of old grate bars, 960 lbs at $.03 28.80 

I ranch 25.00 

I storehouse, 8 x 10, lumber 786 ft. B. M. 

at $6.00 $4.72 

500 shingles at $6.00 3.00 

8 foundations blocks at $.25 2.00 

AMiitewash i.oo 

Hardware, etc 4.45 I5-I7 

Add for labor building storehouse 3.54 



$119.01 
Engineering and Superintendent and 

omissions 20% 23.80 

Total cost $142.81 

A TAR KILX 

will also be a convenience and considerable tar and pitch will be 
needed on the vessels, jetty and wharf. 

Vj doz. kettles at $60.00 $30.00 

3/2 doz. axes at $12.00 6.00 

Yz sharp pointed shovels at 12.00 6.00 

Labor, 4 men Yi month at $10.00 20.00 

Labor 2 men 2 months at $10.00 20.00 

Total cost $82.00 



PATUCA STORE HOUSE, 20 x 2-^. 

Lumber, framing, shingles, doors, windows, hard- 
ware, shelving, counters and lal)or, etc $189.20 

Painting 12.96 

Superintendent, errors and omissicms lo^/c 20.22 

Total %222.i% 

This building will be located at Patuca and will lie the first 
building to be built when the expedition arrives. The lumber 
will have to be brought out from the States. 

SCHOOL HOLSE, 20 X 25. 

This will b'o the second building, to be init at Patuca and 
\\\\\ be used for ([uarlcrs bv the ist expedition, until tlic hotel 

44 



can l)e built. The luniher must be brought out from the 
States. 

Framing. boarcHng. roofing, windows, doors 

ancl lal^or S180.OO 

Buihling ])orcli and stc]js 8.Q3 

Painting 12.96 

Closets, lumjjcr =^=^j fl. \\. M. at $6.00 S3. 34 

Doors, Clocks, hardware, shingles, etc 9-3'^> 

Whitewash i.oo 

Sewer and water 2 w. c. 1 tn"inal. i laxatory 

and connections ^*')-75 

Labor 25^ 2o/>i 104.06 

Furniture 50.00 

Su|)erint(.'ndrnt \o^/f 3tS-S9 

1'otal cost $391.54 

The closets and water piping and furniture will not be put 
in mitil the building is needed for a school. 



PATCC.V HOTFL. 

This hotel or boarding house will be needed at once at 
Patuca for the offices and accommodations for the officers and 
mechanics employed on the jetties and in the other works and 
shoj-js. 

It will be built from the first hunber cut In' the mill and 
should contain a kitchen, dining room, (General Manager's 
Office, drafting room and doctor's office, with 17 sleeping 
rooms. After the port is o])ened it will be needed for the re- 
ception of colonists pending their passage up the river to their 
lands and also for those permanent residents at the port, that 
do not have families. The store should be connected with it. 

FSTTMATE. 

0.6 Al. T. B. M. lumber at $6.00 $5/6.00 

Roofing, doors, Avindow'S, finials. fittings, balconies, 

finishings, hardware, kitchen, chimney Q07.69 

Pltunbing and water fittings 3^,^-35 

Foundations 30.55 

Lightning rods i5-40 

45 



Painting 2 coats 405.50 

Labor 25% of cost of material 470.07 

$2,770.56 
Superintendent and contingencies, 10% 277.06 

Total cost $3,047.62 

Detail plans of the hotel have been made and therefore this 
estimate will not be chanoed. 



BUILDINGS AT RITA TARA. 

The same sized hotel will be needed at Rita Tara after the 
River line of Navigation is opened to accommodate settlers 
while hunting uplands. It will probably be best to lease this 
hotel and the one at Patuca to some competent person to run 
and board the officers and mechanics. 

A loggers' camp will also be required at Rita Tara for the 
men to live in, 18 x 14 and a store house of same size. 
Cost Rita Tara Hotel $3,047.62 

" Store House 7},-7^ 

" Loggers' Camp 72i-7^ 

Total cost $3,195.14 

SHOPS AT PATUCA, 

will be required to do the carpentering, joinering and iron work 
for the various buildings and for repairing and fitting ships, 
boats, etc., for the repairing of engines and the preparing of 
the iron used on the jetties, wharf, water works, etc., repair- 
ing tools and sharpening drills. Power for running lathes will 
be re(|uired and the shops should be connected. 

I machine and blacksmith shop, 18 x 14 7}\-7^'* 

I car])enter's shop 7}>-7^ 

Total cost $147-52 

OU.\RRV CA.MP. 

This will ])c located on Canon Island in lircwer's Lagoon. 
There w ill ha\-e to be accommodations for to or a dozen men. 
but the regular gang will not exceed 6 men. including the 
cook. 

46 



There is now on the ishmd i frame buihJin^' used as an 
office and store liouse, about i8 x 25 feet, and i tool liouse 
about 10 X 15 feet, with e^alvanized iron roof, part of which 
has been pulled off and carried away. There are also 3 thatch 
roofed shacks and a boat house with a shingle roof about 30 
bv 60. 





Eak "^^raiw^si 


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Native Ciim.dkicn — Pati 1 a. 

The blacksmith shop adjoining has tumbled in, as also the 
house of the manager on the hill. There are about 6 large pit- 
pans, in good state of preservation in the boat house. All the 



47 



houses are opened or unfastened. In the tool house there are 
a few picks, bars, axes, chains, blocks and tackle, one or two 
cross cut saws, a keg of log dogs and a few other minor tools. 
I could find no tools in the ruins of the blacksmith shop, ex- 
cept a few rusty files. 

I would consider the following estimate of value of tools, 
boats and buildings, as ample. 

ESTIMATES OF OLD PROPERTY OX CAXXON 
ISLAXD, BREWER'S LAGOOX, HOX. 

3 frame buildings, one in good repair, tlie other two in 

bad state $ioo. 

6 pitpans (large) 60. 

Tools 40. 

3 shacks 25. 



$225. 
It could probably be bought from Mr. Easterbroak for about 
half price. 

AVATER A\'ORKS AT PATUCA. 

These are required under the concession and will lessen in- 
surance and promote good health of the town. It is proposed 
to take the water from an infiltration well located about J4 
of a mile west of the town in the arenaceous terre plain, of 
the old sea beach, belonging undoul)tedl}' to the present geo- 
logical age. The elevation of the ground here is about 2 to 
2^ feet higher than the river bank in the town and the 
ground is divided into alternate low banks and sloughs run- 
ning E. & AA ., the latter having evidently been grindles in the 
ancient sea beach. The drainage is all toward the river at 
Patuca. 

It is proposed to locate the infiltration well in one of these 
sand banks, which will strain the water, from whence it will 
run b}- graA'ity in a T)" \'itrified stone-ware l")ipe, to the pump 
well, situated 1 ])lock west of the Plaza and two (2) blocks 
west of the ri\er. as shown on ])lan of the Cilv of Patuca. 
The ])um]) will l)e run l)y a wind mill and will deliver the 
water in a tank high enough to throw the water over the top 
of the tallest building in the town. From this tank, distributing 
pipes will (leli\er the water to all ])arts of the town under 
pressure. It is i)roposod to use cement-lined wrought-iron 
pi])e, as being cheaper and better, as the water is free from 

48 



iron rust. If the srrowth of the town in the future should 
endanger the purity of the source of supply, the pipe can 
easily and inexpensively be extended to the border of .Mus- 
musalken slough, which is a long narrow grass pond with 
sandy bottom, that discharges into the Patuca ri\er. in tlood 
time, just above the village. 

ESTIMATE EOR WATER WORKS. 

I infiltration brick well, 10x4x8 dee]), with cross 
porous brick-wall, laid in cement with wooden house 
built over it. 1 pum]> well of same size, with house. 

with sup])ly I'iiK'. cost Si 06.36 

2,689 ^t. cement lined ])ipe '5' •'^'5 

Fire plugs, gates. ta])s T"s and elbows .S^^«^o 

I fountain for ])la/:a 50.00 

I pump, tank, windmill and trestle 300.00 

Opening and closing trenches. 150 cubic yards at 20c. 30.00 

Laying pi])e and setting uj) ])um]) 40.00 

Labor digging wells and laying brick 28.40 

Engineering. sui)erintending and contingencies, 15'^r. i i i .48 
Total cost $854.69 

SEWERACE A\i) DKAIXACJ': AT I'A'JT'CA. 

It is essential to the health of I'atuca that due regard be 
given to the drainage and pro])er sanitation of the i)lace. 
There are several small creeks, draining the ]jonds. that lie 
to the west, that discharge into the Patuca river, through 
the town, the largest of wdiich is Prank's creek, about 20 to 
30 feet wide. In September mv men cut a ditch 300 feet long 
from Erank's creek to John A\'ood's creek shown on plan, to 
relieve the former, which was running full from the late 
rains. It will l^e necessary to do some cleaning out of these 
creeks and straightening and filling in. A system of sewerage 
has also been designed for the town, and it wall at once be 
necessary to build it in the street, w^here the hotel and school 
house are situated. As planned it can be extended as the 
needs of the town recpiire. 

49 



ESTIMATE. 

Clearing creeks and widening" ditches, already dug. . . $100.00 

2 A\^alkers Patent automatic flush tanks 27.00 

A'itrified and iron pipe and Y 79--l^ 

3 Alanholes at $25.00 75-00 

Trigging holes for Manholes and flush tanks, and dig- 
ging and refilling trenches S7-^~ 

Laying pipe 13-50 

Engineering and Superintendent 50.44 



Total cost $402.52 

IlLTLBIXG STREETS AXD PLAZAS AT PATUCA. 

The Government of Honduras has agreed to grant i scjuare 
league at Patuca for a town and it is proposed to lay out the 
town from the creek on the south of the ^lill clearing, along 
the ri\'er and down to the sea, covering the site of the present 
Indian A'illage. 

It is proposed at present to lay out and clear and grub and 
grade the streets around 25 blocks, near where the Indian 
A'illage now stands and build small bridges and culverts 
across the creeks and to build a plaza fronting the Custom 
House. I estimated this work will cost as follows : 

ESTOIATE FOR RUILDIXG PATUCA. 

Clearing and grubbing about 8,720 ft. streets, 12 

acres at $20.00 $ 240.00 

Surfacing and grading 6.737 '-^'■i- 3'^^^- ^t Toc 673.70 

Engineering and Sup't, lo'^/c 91-37 

Total $1,005.07 

Plazas 2.9 acres at $20.00 $58.00 

Engineering and Sup't 10% 5.80 63.80 

Surveying streets and lots, i party, 4 weeks 325.00 

1'otal .$i,303-J^7 

l>ridg(.'s and cuUerts 143 fl. 16 ])iU-s (10 to 

ao ft. ) at 50c $8.00 

3,663 feet W. M. lumber at ^6.oo 21.97 

iron, bolts, nails and spikes ^•-?) 

.Material $33-20 



J.al.ur 4 nijn (^n culverts 5 days at $3.00. . 15.00 

63 piles (lri\-en and ca])|)ed at $3.00 189.00 

2 men finishing'. 3 days at $2. 25. 6.75 



S243.95 
Enginecrinii;; and Su])erintendent i5''/r.... 3^>.5'j 280.54 



Total cost building- I'atuca $1,674.41 



ESTLMATl-: I'Ok I'-l'ILDlXC RITA TARA. 

In the absence of any survey at Rita Tara. 1 can only make 
an approximate estimate of the co.st of layinj^; out ancl build- 
ing" a town here, but as the conditions are much more fa\or- 
able. there being no swamps. i)onds or creeks and no under- 
bush, the ])roblem will be much easier. The following esti- 
mate is not far from correct: 

Surveying. 1 party. 4 weeks $300.00 

Surfacing and grading 830. 00 

Total $1,130.00 

Ti-:ij-:i'ii()\i-: uxi-: to ji-:ttii-:s. 

\\ l"ile this is not an absolute necessity, it will sa\e time 
and be a great conx'enience. 

1 mile wire 358 lbs. at .06'/, $-^3--27 

18 i)oles. set. at $1.00 18.00 

18 insulators .75 

2 telephone instruments 50.00 

Stringing i da}'. $5.00. Su])'t & contingencies loO^. 

$9-ro U-70 

Total $106.72 



CUSTOM HOL'SE WHARF. 

L'nder the concession this wharf has to be 600 x 40 feet, 
built alongside the shore, in front of the Custom House and 
will have a depth in front of 16 to 18 feet, at low tide. As 
the water is never salt here and only brackish about 2 months 
in the year, the sea worms cannot be very destructive here, 
even if they exist at all. In order to comply with the terms 
of the concession, however. I would reconimend that the piles 

51 



be treated with Carbolineuni A\'enarium, which engineers re- 
port to afford efficacious protection, and which is inexpensive. 

ESTniATE. 

600 piles, at .50c $300.00 

188 M ft. B. M. lumber at $6.00 1,128.00 

8,700 lbs. drift bolts, at .0225c 195-75 

1,350 lbs. spikes and nails, at .025c 33-75 

200 lbs. screw bolts and nuts and washers, at loc. . 20.00 

150 ft. 195 lbs. chain or wire rope, at 12c 23.40 

I barrel pitch 2.00 

$1,702.90 

Labor 25% 425.72 

Driving and capping 600 piles, at $3.00 1,800.00 



$3,928.62 

Sup't and engineering and contingencies 10% 392.86 

Total cost $4,321.48 

PATUCA CUSTOM HOUSE. 

100' 11" X 44' 11", Framed Building, two stories. 

Earth excavation for foundations, 75 cu. yards at 25c 18.75 

Masonry piers and foundations for scale 18J/2 cu. 

yards at $2.00 37-00 

106 M Ft. B. M. lumber, at $6.00 636.00 

272 lineal feet Balustrade, at $1.00 272.00 

2 finials at 50c., $1.00; 20 balcony do. at 40c., $8.00; 9.00 

2 bundles laths, $8.50 17.00 

K" X 5 H" siding 8y2 M at $20.00 170.00 

1-30 ft. flag pole 10.00 

100 squares corrugated iron rooting, at $6.50 650.00 

510 ft. hip and ridge cap at .07c 35vO 

155 ft. gutters at .0634 $6.69 and 25 ft. si^out at 

.06^. $1.68 ^ 1 1.37 

2 newel posts, at $35.00 70.00 

18 doors, at 4.00 72.00 

38 glazed windows, at $3.00 t 14.00 

9,000 square yards tarred paper, 1,500 \hs. at .03c. . . . 45.00 

9,000 square yards felt paper, 1,500 lbs., at .03c. . . . 4500 

8 barrels American cement, at $2.00 16.00 

16 barrels lime, at .80c 12.80 

r)2 



Hardware, fitting's, nails, lock, butts, bolts, etc 118.21 

I platform scale, ca])acity 5,000 lbs 125.00 

7, I basin lavatories, at $2.25 15-75 

I, 7 basin lavatory 30.00 

$2,522.18 

I urinal $2.00, 4 syphon jet water closets and fixint::, 

$71.00 7300 

I I water cocks, at .50 5.50 

Stone, iron and lead pipe, Y's traps and bends.... 108.90 

Cost of material $2,701) 58 

Labor, 25% <^>77-39 

Painting in and out 23C).44 

$3,626.41 
Su])erinten(lence and contingencies 10% 362.64 

'J\)tal cost Custom House $3,989.05 

VEGETABLE CARDEX AT PATUCA. 

Living- as the workmen will have to, largely on salted or 
canned meats, there will be danger of scurvy and other kinds 
of sickness, unless fresh vegetables can be obtained in plenty. 
The Indians do not raise any garden vegetables, only rice, 
corn, sugar cane, plantains, bananas, pineapples and other 
fruit, and it will be necessary for the health of the expedition 
to plant a small garden to raise potatoes, turnips and other 
garden truck, which can be readily done. 

AA'irc fence, i bundle (abt. 125 lbs.), or 1,260 ft. at 

$4.00 per bundle $4.00 

Cleaning and grubbing 2 acres at $45.00 90.00 

Ciardcn seeds 5.00 

I gardener 6 mos. at $11. 00 66.00 

Total I year $165.00 

This matter can probably be arranged with some of the 
colonists, the Company buying from him, and this, with what 
visiting ships would recpiire, would furnish a good start to 
s. gardener. 

5B 



SXAGGIXG UP TO GUALPITAXTI. 

■ Rut 1 1 snags could be discovered obstructing the channel, 
as far up as I went, viz: Gualpitanti. There are probably 



/ 



■J 













SiKl l^ATIIING AT J'ATDCA. 

relati\cly nmre on the u])per half of our naxigation. but just 
how many is ludviiowii. The snaggino- outfit rec|uired will 
consist (it a decked liglUer. witli a swingino- boom, a boiler 



54 



and hoistin.u' ciiiiinc. cluiin. tackle, grapnel, dynamite and olec- 
tric firing apparatns, axes and a cross cut saw. The steam- 
boat will be recpiired to tow up. The cost of extracting 
snags in the United States is about $5.00 a ])iece. As there 
are so few in this case, the relative cost will be greater. A 
pile driving engine and boiler can be used, as it will not be 
necessary to do any snagging until the jetties are completed. 
Extracting 11 snags at Sio.oo, $1 lo.oo. 

IXSPECTIXC L.WD.s AXI) TI.\li'.l-:R. 

As soon as possible after the jetty channel is »)])encd. 'M- 
before, a thorough ins]jection should be made of all the lautlN 
embraced in the grant, for the double purpose of deciding 
where to run the lines and for making estimates of value ot 
timber, cost of logging. auKiunt of rubber, vanilla, sarsapar- 
illa. turpentine, and medicinal gums, resins, etc.. metals, min- 
erals, economic earths, clays, etc. and location of different 
varieties of agricultural lands. 

1 ins])ector, 3 boatmen and guides 2 mon'Jis at 

$12.00 per day $720.00 

Provisions 75-00 

T<^tal ' .S7(;5.oo 

This ins])ection could be made b}- the Chief Fjigineer. at 
odd times and no extra appropriation would be re(|uired for it. 

ITT'KR T1-:RMIXI\^ STATlOX. 

A building for a warehouse and lodging house will be re- 
(fuired at the u])per end of our naxigation for the accommo- 
dation of passengers' and freight. There should also be on 
hand there to rent to passengers, not less than a dozen sad- 
dle and cargo mules, with drivers, in order to stimulate travel 
by our route. These, of course, \vill not be required until 
the navigation is established. The distance from our terminus 
to the nearest large town. Catacamas. is as near as can be 
ascertained. 60 miles, and passengers going up the river will 
require some such facilities to continue their journey. The 
nude train can very properlv be a private enterprise, but at 
first it may be necessary for the Companv to supply them, 
at customary rates, so T have estimated for them and later 
they can be sold to some of our colonists who woidd like to 
engage in the lousiness. 

55 



ESTIAIA'i'E. 

\A'arehouse and lodging house, with outbuilding 

and fencing $1,200.00 

12 mules at $40.00 each 480.00 

Total $1,680.00 

LOGGING OUTFIT. 

1 pr. log wheels, tongue, axles and yokes, etc $100.00 

2 yoke oxen 1 50.00 

Chains, dogs, and cant hooks and axes 50.00 

Total $300.00 

These will be wanted as soon as expedition lands. 

PILE DRIVERS. 

2, with boilers, hoisting engines, pumps, hammers, pulleys, 
etc., will cost, if framed at Patuca from Honduras lumber 
$1,200, and will be needed at once for work on jetties. The 
reason for two has been already explained and is imperative. 

SURA^EY OF GRANT. 

The land grant is 100,000 hectares — 247,110 acres, and 
must be taken in alternate lots of 1,000 hectares each, which 
is therefore equivalent to surveying 494,220 acres — 7/2.22 
square miles, equivalent to running about 1,000 lineal miles 
to sur\-ey them into 1,000 hectare lots. ]\lost of this land will 
be open pine land, l)ut some of it will be very thick and rough 
forest. The price paid for survey of open i^ine land by the 
U. S. Land Office is $14 to $16 ])er mile. Fi^r thick woods 
the price is $t8 to $24. .-\verage of all $t8.oo ]xm- mile. 
This is 1,000 miles at $18.00 $18,000.00 

'1 lii^ (I(ics not takv' into account the meander lines along 
na\-igal)le streams, and around lakes and large ponds, which 
cr'rnot be e^limated for in I'lc j'jresent state of our knowledge 
of the country, or any subdi\-isions into smaller lots than 1,000 
hectares. The sulxlivisions can be ])aid for as surveved bv 
the settler, it includes making a map of eacli r,ooo hectares. 



SHIP RAILWAY. 

This will be aljsolutely necessary for our own use to enable 
ns to scrape and paint and caulk our vessels and protect them 
from the sea worms. Mr. Wood's steamer was lost for want of 
a railwa}' to haul it out. 

It will ])robably pay for itself by the use made of it by 
coasters and other vessels. A good location is presented at 
the mill site clearing at the upper end of the village of I'atuca. 
It would not be advisable to make it with a capacity greater 
than 50 tons at first, owing to the great cost for larger 
tonnage. 

EST I. MAT I-:. 

Estimate lumber 33 M ft. 1'.. .M. at $6.00 $19800 

Drift bolts 676 lbs., at .0225c 15.10 

Screw bolts, 61 lbs. at .0325c 1.98 

Twenty 1). nails, 30 lbs., at .0235 .y\ 

Straps, 124 lbs. at .0225 2.79 

Stud chain i" 185. 2 lbs., at .08 14.82 

Stud chain •)4" 208.4". at .10 20.84 

Stud chain 5-16" 361.6". at .12 43-39 

$297.63 

Rip-rap rock (j^laced) 151. i cu. yds., at .75c 1 13.33 

Earthwork (about) 231.5 cu. yds. at .20c 4'''-30 

Drum and le\'cr 2.00 

80 Rollers, 6 inch diameter 2 feet long (lignum 

vitae) .480 J\I. B. M. at $30 . . 14.40 

Labor, framing 123.42 

Setting up 24.00 

$621.08 

Engineering and .Supt. and cciutingencies 10%.... 62.11 

Total cost $683.19 

HOISTING CRAXE. 

This will be needed at once for raising hea\'y Aveights such 
as boilers, engines, etc., from the lighters to the bank, and will 
always be needed later on the wharf. The hand winch and 
fittings should be bought in the States and shipped out in the 
first consignment. 

The boom can be made at Patuca. Cost, $100.00. 

57 



STEA.A1B(3AT WOOD STATIONS. 

On Patiica River l)etween Patnca and Rita Tara (i at Patuca, 
I at head of pass and i at Rita Tara). 

3 wood shacks, at $15.00 $45-00 

15 cords wood in each, 45 cords, at $2.50 112.50 

I station at Brewer's Lagoon 20 cords at $2.50 50.00 

Total cost $207.50 



TOOLS, PLANT AND STORE GOODS. 

I set Blacksmith tools, see appendix $90.00 

I set Machinists tools see appendix 680.00 

I set Carpenters and Calkers tools (p. 13). 150.00 
1 set Phnnl^ers and Roofers and ]\[asons 

tools 75-00 

Total tools $995.00 

All other plants, such as Ijlocks, tackle, anchors, capstans, 
small boats, wheell)arrows, drills, household goods, medical 
stores, provisions and supplies, $10,000.00. 

Many of these supplies, household goods, medical stores, 
provisions, etc., will be sold to Indians and Colonists. There 
will also be a stock in store of dry goods, nic-nacks, yankee 
notions, clothing, etc., for general trade and particularly for 
the Indians. Total, $5,000.00. 

These 2 estimates are not much more than guesses. 

PRE I CM T. 

Charter of schooner. The l^rig Card) makes a trip every 2 
months to Truxillo, calling at Bay Islands and some West 
India ports, and would probably go to Patuca, which is 130 
miles East of Truxillo, if assured that a comjK'tent lighter and 
tug would be on hand for unloading. There will l)e about 200 
tons of freight, Init a small jiart including luml)er for cpiarters 
;'nd warehouse can be bought in New ( )rleans or Mo])ile and 
taken out bv our tug to be used in tlie jireliminary work of 
the ex])e(lition. 

In i88(j-<;o. charters from .\ew York to CreN'town used to 
run from $800 to $r,200. according to wdiether the captain 
could obtain a return cargo from an\- i^i^int on ihe route or 
near by. 



Fn (Hir case. I ha\e estimated the smallest amount as all 
that will he re{|uire(l as if the "Carih" is freijihted, she will 
ha\e lier regular earp^o for return. (This for first invoiee only. 
Our own hoats afterward). 

200 tons freiijht at .002 ])er Ih., S800.00. 




ClKASSOW I'ATrCA li 1 VKI;. 

TENTATIVE WORK. 

The following- works niay or may not l)e required, in whole 
or in part. This is a matter that it is impossil:)le for anvone 

50 



to foresee and answer. As previously stated these are our 
reserves, that may be needed in our conflict with the forces of 
nature and may not. 

Some part of them may be needed and not the whole. AVhile 
I do not believe that any of these, except possibly the last 
two, will be needed, still it would be an unwise commander, 
that kept no reserves for a general engagement and it is quite 
probable that two or three mattress aprons will be needed 
and possibly 2 or 3 groynes and the additional stone may be 
needed or part of it, ^nd it is not improbable that we will have to 
extend the jetties during 25 years a few hundred feet further, 
but no one can say positively. I have thought it best, with 
this explanation, to include these works in the estimate in 
order to be on the safe side. 

DREDGING. 

It is required by our contract to obtain 12 feet of water in 
the channel. The distance between the 12 foot curves is now 
2,180 feet, with an extreme cut, on the crest of the bar, of 6.5 
feet and for a channel 300 feet wide, this gives 108,644 cubic 
yards of sand and mud to be removed which at loc. per cubic 

yard equals, $10,864.40 

Add for Engineering and Supt. ic/o 1,086.44 

Total cost $11 ,950.84 

It is confidently believed, however, that by dragging the 
channel as previously estimated for, this material will all be 
swept out to sea, without any necessity for dredging except 
possibly a small amount near the center of the harbor, between 
the 12 and 9 foot curves, where the distance between the jet- 
ties is greater. 

^lATTRESS APRON. 

As previously explained if the work is faithfully watched 
and carried on as recommended, and all goes well, these will 
not ])e required. It is possible, bowexer, that some cases may 
occur, where they will be needed, l)Ut if so, prol)ably only in a 
few ])laces. [ have, however, estimated ior these protecting 
aprons along l)oth sides of both jetties 40' feet wide and wider 
at the sea ends, the most extreme case possible, viz.: 
51,022.22 square yards, at $1.00 $51,022.22 

There is, however, no reasonable i)rcsunii>tion, ihat more than 
1,000 feet in lengtli ])y 20 feet in widili. will under any circum- 

60 



stances be required. ec|ual to 20,000 sq. ft. or 2.222.22 sq. yds., 
at $1.00, $2,222.22. 

The details of llic construction of these mattre.sse.s i.s shown 
on the plan of Tooni Toom dam, and the cost before setting 
will he ab-out 55 cents ])er scjuare yard. 

GROYXES. 

The use and construction of these has already been explained. 
They are built exactly the same as a part of the main jetty of 
the same width. 

Where mattresses are used groynes will not be rcfpiired unless 
it be to promote greater scour, as already explained. This is not 
anticipated. Under some contingencies that might arise. 20 
groynes might be required, to on each jetty, and T have accord- 
ingly estimated for that number 50 feet long each or 1,000 feet 
in all (and 10 feet wide), at $r).oo. $6,000.00. 

JETT>' i':xTi-:xsiox. 

The conditions under which this might become necessary have 
already been explained. While the possibility exists that in the 
ensuing 25 years some inconsiderable extension will be re(|uired. 
my studies and computations lead me to believe, on the other 
hand, that 12 feet of water over the bar will be obtained before 
the jetties reach the length T have charted, provided their con- 
struction is proceeded with simultaneously, in which case, of 
course, the cost will be greatly reduced. 

ESTHIATE EAST Jl-.TTY EXTEX.sJOX. 

100 ft., 18 ft. wide $1,603.57 

400 ft., 20 ft. wide 9,037.81 

Sea end 542.97 

$11,274.35 
ESTBIATE WEST JETTY EXTEXSIOX. 

400 ft.. 18 ft. wide $6,774.28 

400 ft, 20 ft. wide 9,037.81 

Sea end 542-97 

!* ■ . — ^ $16,355.06 

61 



Brought forward 27,629.41 

Rebuilding" 2 da}' beacons lO.oo 

Total cost $27,639.41 

EXTEXSIOX OF \\'ATER WORKS AXD SEWERAGE 

SYSTEM. 

This is, of course, a matter of uncertainty depending- on the 
growth of the town of Patuca. I would consider it proper to 
estimate on doubling" the service in 2 or 3 years, viz. : 

Water \\^orks extension $854.69 

Sewerage "do." 402.62 

Total cost $1,257.31 

TELEGRAPH LIXE FROM PATUCA TO YRIOXA (60 

MILES). 

Telegraph Wire Xo. 8, 21,499 lbs., at .o6>^c $1 •397-43 

Poles, 1.056, at $1.00 1,056.00 

In.sulators. 1.056, at .02c 21.12 

2 Teleg-raph Instruments 50.00 

2 Batteries 14.00 

^-mile cable ( for crossing inlets) 25.00 

3/2-mile extra wire for fastenings 11.64 

Labor, Setting poles, 1,056, at .25c 266.50 

Stringing, 32 days, at $5.00 160.00 

I nude and cart hauling poles and wire t,2 days at S3. 00 96.00 

4 men clearing line, 15 days, at .42c 25.20 

Surveying" liiie, jiartv 20 days 250.40 

$3,373-29 

Engineering and Superintendent, 10 per ceiit 337-33 

Total ci St $3,710.62 

RI\I-:R RIA I'T.MI-.XT i .\"( > r Tb:XTAT[\"EV 

'i'he ri\'er all ;d(iiig the front of the town ni Patuca seems to be 
ra]Md]\- erodirg its west bank, as appeared from Coccanut trees 
standing in the water, and from the crumbling off of the bank 
and from the fact thai ni;in\ of the Indian shacks have had to be 

63 



moved back and one house has washed away. Jii;t hi w fast the 
erosion is i^oinj^ on, we have no means cf knowing, until we can 
compare the survey already made with a new survey of that part 
of the river bank. There seems little doubt, however, but that the 
bank will have to be protected very soon to prevent the town 
from washing away. The length requiring ])rotectiGn is 2.240 
feet, and the best plan will be to drive a line of piling in the river 
in front. cap])ing it with longitudinal stringers and driving a 
double row of sheet piling of slabs Ijchind them and tilling in the 
back with Paj)ta or brush filling. 

As no detail ])lans have been prepared of this work yet. the 
estimate will be necessarily somewhat unsatisfactory, but I think 
not far from the truth. Perhaps bamlx o ])iles can be used and 
thus reduce the cost. 

VS'llMWE. 

188 piles, at .50 S'H-OO 

33/^ M lumber, at $6.00 21.00 

44 cord slabs, at .50 22.00 

$137.00 

251 lbs. )1." drift bolts, at .0225 5.65 

464 lbs. nails, at .0235 10.90 

213 cords paj^ta. brush filling, at Si. 00 213.00 

6 gallons ])itch, at .07 .42 

Labor driving and cai)])ing 18S ])ik's. at $3.00 5^)4.00 

Placing low water brace and deadmen : 2 men. n 

days, at $2.00 22.00 

Slabbing ; 3 men. 2^^ days, at $3.00 69.00 

$1,021.97 
Knginecring and Sujierintcndent. 10 i)er cent 1 02.20 

Total cost Si. 1 24. 1 7 

TOOM TOOM SL'r..Ml-:R(;KD DAM. 

I have made a ])reliminar\- estimate, which follows, of the work 
required at this place, but as previously stated in this report, it is 
im]:)ossible to make a close estimate of the cost of this work until 
the low water plane is established and the current observations 
worked up, which cai: only be done at the low water stage of the 
river. 

Py reference tc^ the ])lan of the head cf Toom Toom Pass it 

63 



will be seen that at the head of the Pass the depth is 48 feet, and 
it is proposed to build the submerged dam at a point in the Pass 
400 feet below the head, where the depth is from 19.3 feet to 23 
feet in the channel, at the stage of water found at the time of the 
survey, which was supposed to be about 6 feet above low water. 

This is the shoalest place in the Pass, and the dam will have a 
length of 247 feet on the crest. During high water we have all 
the water at Patuca that is wanted, but at the low water stage it 
may be desirable to maintain a greater flow there, in order to pre- 
serve the scouring force "over the bar." As I was not there at 
that season I cannot speak positively on the point. It will be 
necessary, before deciding upon this dam, to ascertain the velocity 
and discharge of the river at the Gorge, and also at the head of 
the Pass at low water stage and to observe the action of the cur- 
rent over the bar between the jetties after they are built. We will 
then have the data by which we can compute the height of the 
dam above the low water plane, necessary to produce the results 
aimed at, and then, and not until then, can we make anything like 
a near estimate of the cost. The plan proposed is to drive a triple 
row of piles across the Pass 6 feet apart from center to center 
each way. These will be capped with stringers and cross caps, 
secured by drive bolts and braced up and down stream by spur 
shores let into the piles near the head and bolted with screw bolts. 

A triple row of 2" sheet piling will be driven along the lower 
longitudinal stringer and spiked to it wth 12" spikes. The cross 
caps will be on top of the stringers and will be given a drop up 
stream. The up-stream spur-shore is intended as a fender from 
logs and snags, brought down by the current, and it is expected 
that the reach between the dam and the main stream will speedily 
fill up with snags and mud to nearly the level of the dam. acting 
as a protection. 

The piles should be driven from a lighter, liy the water jet. 
butt end down, and the work should be down at dead low water 
stage of the river and, with lumber and piles all read\-, should 
not occupy more than 30 days. 

The bays between the two lower rows of piles will be tilled with 
alternate layers of bamboo logs and rock, and the bamboo will be 
cut out at each joint and, as in the jetty, will fill up in the same 
way with sand and silt. 

h:STLA[ATl-: OF CO.^T OF SfBAlFRCl' D DAM. 

133 piles, 30 feet long, at .50 ^77-50 

56 piles, 15 feet long, at .25 14.00 

fi4 



20 'SI 2 sheet piling, at $6.00 120.00 

7 M lumber, at $6.00 42.00 

1,296 bamboo logs, 30 ft. long, at .10 i2<).6o 

456.3 cubic yards rip-rap rock, at .y^ ,^4--3 

569.15 lbs. drift belts, at .0225 12.81 

870.2 lbs. screw bolts with nuts and washers, at .0325 . 28.28 

572 lbs. 12 spikes, at .025 i4-30 

r..\P.OR. 

Grading bank 1 18.5 cubic yards, at .20 23.70 

Driving and capping 155 piles and .spur shores, at $3.00 465.00 

Setting and capping 56 ])()sts. at $1.75 98.00 

]\Ial<ing and (lri\'ing and si)iking 180 sheet piling, at 

$2.00 360.00 

Filling in 465.3 cubic yards stone, at .20 91.26 

Filling in 361.5 cul)ic \ards logs, at .20 72.30 

$1,890.98 
Engineering and .Superintendent, 10 per cent 189.10 

Total cost $2,080.08 

EXTR.\ ROCK l-OR .SiyrTLKM 1':NT OX JI'/rTV. 

After the lapse of time, sa\" one td two years, it generally 
happens that jetties recpiire to be topi)ed out with more rock on 
account of settlement. conii)ression antl wash. Just how much 
will be re([uired for this purpose in our case it is impossible to 
say. T have allowed for one foot of settlement and wash off, 
which will probably be enough. 

East jetty. 1,059.5 cubic yards at 55c $582.73 

West jetty, 676.7 cubic yards at 55c 372. 18 

$95491 
Throwing on 1,736.2 cubic yards at 20c 347.24 

Total cost $1,302.15 

Additional Engineering (not included in foregoing) : 
Gauging of River Patuca at low water stage. 
Gauging of cut-oft' at low water stage. 
Borings at bar. 
Borings at cut-oft'. 
Soundings and inspecting of jetties and charting every month 

ten surveys. 
Charting gauging at Patuca and computations. 

65 



Charting gauging at cut-off and computations. 
Charting upper river from Survey already made. 
Computations of up river latitude and longitude. 
Plans of town house at Patuca. 
Plans of warehouse at Patuca. 
Plans of sawmill at Patuca. 

These plans are made. 

Plans of water works at Patuca and levels. 

Plans of sewage and drainage at Patuca and levels. 

New plan at Patuca. (This plan is completed.) 

Plan of Rita Tara. 

Plan of hotel at Patuca. (This plan is completed.) 

Plan of hotel at Rita Tara. 

Plan of brick and tile yard. 

Reconnaissance of river from Gualpitanti to road from Olancho 

and chart and estimates. 
Reconnaisance for canal from Carataska lagoon to Tocomocho 

and plans and estimates. (If decided upon.) 
Mapping- reconnaisance notes of Grant. Inspection. Plan of 

pile drivers. 
Plan of lighter. 

Plan of ship railway and estimate. 
Plan of telegraph line to Yriona. 
New plan Toom Toom dam and estimates. 
Plan river revetment. 

Plans for water works and sewerage and estimates at Rita Tara. 
Outside currents and compi^tations and study. 

Of these twenty-nine items, seventeen have to be filed with 
the Government of Honduras and the others are needed for 
working plans and study, as previously explained. The cost of 
this work would be about $10,000, of which $5,000 is for the 
continuous periodical surveys and examinations made daily of the 
channel and bar, during construction, for purposes as previously 
explained. .As it is, however, those surveys and plans will be 
made l^y the engineering force with laborers taken from the 
works, and their real cost will be very little and will lie included 
in the cost of engineering, superintendence and insjiection. In 
other words, they will be made by the engineers in the intervals 
between visits of inspection. It is absolutely necessary to make 
com]:)arative charts of tlie bar and jetty channel once every 
month, in order to studx ihc new regimen and be prepared for 
changes and contingencies. Of course these will not be as ex- 
pensive and costly as the original survey, because we will have 

6() 



our base lines and stations already measured and established and 
our ranp^es set up and shore topography taken, so will only have 
to take tbe soundings and locate them, and the men will be more 
expert 1)y practice. 




EOEEJIAX OF THE GaXG. 

SU^IAIARY. 

VESSELS. 



I tug- boat .... 
I river steamer 



I $6,000.00 
I 2,500.00 



67 



1 naphtha launch I 400.00 

2 decked hghters I 1,600.00 

MACHINERY AND TOOLS. 

2 pile drivers i $1,200.00 

I pr. log wheels, tongue, 2 yoke oxen, yokes, 

chains and dogs 300.00 

I set blacksmith and machinists' tools, lathes, 

planer, drill, channeller, etc., with power and 

shafting 10,000.00 

I set carpenters and calkers 150.00 

I set plumbers, roofers and masons 75-00 

I sawmill, shingle cutter, matcher and dresser 

and jig i 3v77-90 

BUILDINGS. 

I custom house 2 $3,975.00 

I school house (at first to be used as a camp) ... i 391-33 

I hotel at Patuca i 3,047.62 

I hotel at Rita Tara i 3,047.62 

I storehouse at Patuca ( warehouse) i 222.38 

I storehouse at Rita Tara i yZ-l^ 

I loggers' camp i 73-76 

I cjuarry camp i 225.00 

I carpenter's shop i 73-70 

I hospital I 600.00 

I blacksmith shop i 7^-7^ 

JETTIES. 

Building both jetties 2 %Z2)^^'^'i--Z7 

IMPROVING RI\"ER. 

Dragging channel 3 $1,000.00 

Snagging up to Gualpitanti 3 1 10.00 

BUILDING TOW^NS. 

Building bridges and culverts at Patuca 3 $280.54 

Building streets and plazas at Patuca 3 ^-393-87 

Building streets and plazas at Rita Tara 3 1,130.00 

Building water works at Patuca 3 854.89 

Building sewerage and drainage at I'atuca 3 402.62 

Surve_\ing land grant 3 18,000.00 

v\.\y.'\\ 

Plant, hnusehukl goods. c<">al and nil. medical 

stores and provisions $10,000.00 



Stock in store i 5.000.00 

Freight I 800.00 



.MISCKLLAXEOUS. 

1 l)rick, lik' and ])i])e _\-ar(l 



360.00 



I lime and cement kihi I 

6 tar kilns 1 

I vegetable garden i 

Telephone line to jetties 1 

4 steamboat wood stations i 

Up river terminal station, mules, portrere. fencing 

Taking tug boat, lighter and some lumber out. . . i 

lUiilding custom house wharf 2 

r)Uoys and mushroom anchor and beacon 3 

Hoisting crane 1 

Ship railway i 



TI-:X TATlVr. WORK. 

Dredging on bar and in channel ? 

j\rattress aprons 

Groynes 

Jetty extension 

Water works and sewerage extension 

Telegraph line, Patuca to Yriona 

Toom Toom dam 

River revetment at Patuca 

Extra rock on jetties 

Snagging and dredging on u])])er river 

Repairs 

I year insurance on buildings, i^^ per cent 

I year insurance on vessels. 2 per cent 

Interest on first cost, i year. 8 per cent 



Contingencies and omissions, ro per cent. 
Total cost 



$110,771.28 

142.81 

82.00 

165.00 

106.72 

415.00 

1 .680.00 

250.00 

4.321.48 

1 20.27 

100.00 

705 19 

$118,850.75 

1 i,()5o.84 
2,222.22 
6.000.00 

27.63<).4i 

1-257-31 
3.710.62 
2.086.68 
1. 124.17 
1. 302. 1 5 



170.68 

158.00 

14.1 18.54 

$190,600.37 
19.060.04 

$209,660.41 



Of this amount those marked i. amounting to $68,085.83. should 
be expended the first year: those marked 2, $41,929.15. will be 



69 



taken up next; those marked 3. amounting- to $23,291.99. \vill be 
postponed until later : those marked ?, $57,293.40. are tentative 
works or reserves. 

Some of them will be needed, and possibly all. The Toom 
Toom dam and the River Revetment will in all probability be 
required, the latter undoubtedly before the twenty-five years of 
the concession has expired, unless the construction of the jetties 
should so change the river currents as to cause the erosion now 
going on to cease. I would advise that this be left until the effect 
of the completion of the jetties can be seen. Of the foregoing 
items the following can be sold on completion of the works of 
improvement, viz. : 

Tug boat, one lighter, two pile drivers, hotels at Patuca and 
Rita Tara, Hospital (for Apothecary), Telephone, Logging out- 
fit, log wheels, tongue, oxen, yokes, chains and dogs. Blacksmith, 
Machinists, Carpenters, Calkers, Plumbers, Roofers, and Masons' 
tools, tar-making outfit, garden, store at Rita Tara, Loggers' 
Camp, Carpenter shop. Blacksmith shop. Construction Plant, 
Household Goods (most of them), ]\Iedical Stores and Provisions 
and Stock in store. These things to be sold only to parties who 
would operate them, all amounting to $41,669.00, and we could 
also sell a lease for the remainder of the twentv-five ^•ears for 
the following, viz. : 

Brick, tile and pipe yard, lime and cement- kiln, water works 
and sewerage, amounting to $5,538.07 in first cost, the rentals on 
which for twenty-three or twenty-four years would be consider- 
able. 

By estal^lishing these industries we have something besides land 
and climate to offer emigrants. \\"e can set them up in business 
and we can sell them land too, for all those that go into business 
will want lands and plantations. 

There are innumerable other lines that we can exploit in the 
same way, such as lumbering for Mahoganv. rosewood, ron-ron. 
cedar, black walnut. Lignum vitac, etc. L'utting and shipping 
hard pine R. R. ties, tur|)entining. rubber planting, fruit raising, 
vanilla beans, sugar making, mining. Palm oil making, fiber and 
rope making from cocoanut husks and banana stalks, j^aint mak- 
ing, Porcelain and j^nttery making. l-"urnitnre making. Tobacco 
manufacturing, Mour milling. ( irist milling, etc. 

70 



PRELIMINARY WORK. 



SUFPLIKS RKOl'lRED, FIRST KXI'lCDilK )X. 

The first thing to be done to initiate the work is to purcliaso a 
strong harbor tug boat of not over 5 feet draught, and a decked 
lighter about 80 x 22 feet in Galveston, Xew Orleans. .Mobile. 
Pensacola, Tampa, or Key West. Also the lumber rcc|uired for 
the ware house (to be the first quarters) and the store house. 
Cut a bow port in the end of the lighter and stow the lumber in 
the hold and a supply of coal for the tug and 2 ox yokes and 
chains and i pr. log wlieels. .\lso carpenters' tools, axes and 
provisions for 2 dczen n:en f( r 3 months, and 2 large tarpaulins 
and Kngineer's transit and 6 wall tents with flies — the tug to tow 
tlie lighter to Patuca and across the bar to the village, tliere to 
l)e met by the (ieneral Manager. Lumber and stores will be 
landed and all hands start on the erection of the quarters ( af- 
terwards to be the ware house), covering the goods with the tar- 
paulins in the meantime. Then the store house will be jnit up and 
goc^ls ])ul into it. I he men will then be transferred up to Rita 
Tara. where they will build a shack and connnence cutting logs 
for the saw mill, while a couple of suitable men are sent up the 
river to purchase 2 yoke of working oxen to hi-ui logs to mill. 
In the meantime, another exjjedition will be organized in the 
States and sent out with all the tools required, and machinists, 
blacksmiths, plumbers, roofers, calkers aiid masons. \'.ith 2 pile 
driver hammers, hoisting engines and boilers and fittings, saw 
mill and boiler and planer, lathe, jig, etc. Also the P.rick Mill 
and accessories, the lime furnace bars and dcor. Stock of mer- 
chandise for store and plant, with Medical stores and the doctor. 

When this expedition arrives they will be immediately set to 
work setting up the saw mill at Rita Tara. and buildir.g tlie log- 
gers' camp and a store there. They will also start work at once 
on the brick yard and lime kiln, to make lime and brick required 
for our larger buildings, water works and sewers, and with the 
first made will build the piers of the hotel, and as soon as the 
lumber is cut will put \\\) the hotel, shops, etc., ar.d make and 
set up the pile drivers. The tar making will also be initiated. 
As soon as the saw mill has completed cutting the lumber for the 
mill itself, the shops and hotels at Patuca, it will start in cutting 
out the lumber for the jetties, at the same time reserving and 
setting aside the best and most suitable lumber for the hotel at 
Rita Tara. The jetty lumber can be piled on the river bank at 
Rita Tara. ready to raft down to the jetties. In the meantime 

71 



another large lighter will be built at Patnca, from lumber cut 
at Rita Tara. \Vhen this is completed and the lumber all cut for 
the jetties, the loggers will be taken ofif from the saw mill and 
set at work cutting and hauling piles and bamboo logs, which 
will be piled on the river bank ready to raft down to the jetties. 
Then, and not till then, the work on the jetties will begin, and at 
the same time the Cjuarry camp will be established on Cannon 
Island and the work of c|uarrying stone will commence and be 
carried on uninterruptedly until the jetties are completed, the 
logs and lumber being rafted down as wanted. 

^^d^en the jetties are completed, the buoys and beacons will 
be set up and the Custom House and AMiarf built and water 
works, sewerage and drainage constructed and streets and bridges 
built, the wood stations on the river and the terminal station built 
at the Wasspressni and the lands surveyed. 

In the meantime trips of inspection will be made all over the 
grant, to determine where the lands will be selected for the Com- 
pany's plantations. 

The river navigation will then be established and the upper 
river cleared of snags, if required, and the mules purchased to 
rent to travellers going to the interior from our terminus, or I'icc 
versa, and the ship railway will be built for our use in hauling 
out our vessels and to rent to others. 

We will by that time shortly be able to determine on the neces- 
sity of the river revetment at Patuca. the Toom Toom Dam, etc. 

As soon as the jetties are completed and the hotels at Patuci 
and Rita Tara built, we will be read}- for immigrant'^, and not 
before. 

OFFICERS. ASSISTANTS. ^lECHAXICS AXD WORK- 
MEX REQUIRED. 

The Ceneral Manager, besides having the general superintend- 
ance of all the work and operations of the enterprise, should lie 
the Chief Engineer, qualified to design the works and to make 
such changes as may be re(|uired ; to make the examinations, sur- 
veys and insi)octi(Uis needed from time to time, and tbe working 
plans required by the mechanics. lie should have one assistant 
engineer, skilled in the use of the various instruments and draft- 
ing. ;inrl (ine hookkeeiier and clerk, combined in one, to attend 
to the lime and pay rolls, and also to sell got^ds from the store, 
m;M"k ihe j)rices nn the goods and keeji the store accounts. The 
bookkeeper shnuld also be anjioinled as Postmaster, and should 
Ite alile lo speak .'^jianish and attend to the Sjianish correspond- 



ence with the Government officials, under the direction of the 
General ^lanager. A physician and surgeon will be required, 
who might also take photographs of the w'ork as its progresses 
and write up the country. lie could assist also in the draughting 
and accounts. There will also be required one skilled and care- 
ful tug boat cai)tain and one first-class marine engineer for the 
same, a man com])etent to make ordinary repairs to the engine 
and keep it in good order. It is of the first importance that this 
engineer be thoroughly competent on account of tlie difficulty 
of making repairs in this isolated localitv. 




( )m; Ilorit's ('at( 11 — Patica Kivi.i;. 

A good saw mill man will be required to run the saw mill, with 
a good stationary engineer. For the brick making an experi- 
enced man will be required. There will be needed a competent 
master carpenter and five or six journeymen and two or three 
boat carpenters and caulkers or builders, for building the lighter 
and making such repairs as may be needed to the steamboat^. 



\-6 



Owing to the risk of bringing a small flat-bottomed river steam- 
boat out to Patuca, I think it will be the best to buy all machinery 
in the States and build the up river steamboat at Patuca with our 
own lumber and men, unless one could be bought in Belize that 
would prove suitable, which is hardly likely. 

SKILLED LABOR REQUIRED. 

For the jetty work two experienced pile driving men, or wharf 
builders, Avill be required, one to take charge of the work on each 
jetty, who will run his own engine and superintend all the work 
of his jetty, and must be able to read and understand plans, and 
should, if possible, be experienced in similar jetty work. 

There will also be recjuired a blaster Alechanic and two or three 
journeymen and a blacksmith and helper. The latter will 
be kept constantly employed preparing the bolts and straps for 
the jetties, making and sharpening drills for the rock quarrying, 
making log dogs for rafts and general repairing work. The 
former are liable to be called on at any time to make more or 
less extensive repairs to ^lachinery, as, owing to the great dis- 
tance from any machine shops, we will have to be entirely self 
dependent. We also may be called on at any time to make repairs 
to visiting steamers. There also will be required one mason, one 
plumber and assistant, two or three roofers, one farmer for the 
terminal station at Wasspressni, to care for the station and mules 
and raise corn and fodder for the latter and keep a boarding 
house there for travellers. 

There will also be wanted a pipe la}"er for the water works 
and sewers, and an electrician to set up the telephone and tele- 
graph. 

A cook and assistant will be required at both Patuca and Rita 
Tara or a boarding house keeper at the former place to take 
charge of the hotel. 

There will also be re(|uire(l a man who can run a jilaner and 
jig saw and wood lathe. 

Many of these men cnuld combine several occupations in one. 
A man from Xorth Camlina, who knows Ik^w to make tar. should 
also be brought. The cai)tain (U' the 1 ug hc^at could also have 
command of the Snag boat up the river, as this wcirk would not 
be undertaken tmtil the jetties were done. When the snagging 
was completed he could take tlie river boat and his engineer 
acci Mupanv him. 

74 



r.AlK )R1:RS PLEXTIFL'L. 

The laborers can all be obtained in the country. The Caribs 
are s])len(licl boat men and fearless on the water. They and the 
Mosquito men and Zambos are also good log^^^ers and rafters, 
having been accustomed to work cutting mahogany. 

The number wanted will, of course, differ from time to time. 
In the logging work for tlie mill, there will be re(|uired one fire- 
man, one cook, and three cr four hel])ers in the mill, one driver, 
and five or six cutters. 

On the tug boat there will be required one fireman and two 
deck hands. At the quarr}' camp, there will be required one 
conk, two strikers, and two handlers. 

( )n the jetties there will be required for each gang, one fire- 
man, two helpers on pWe driver and four helpers to the carpenter, 
of whom two will be sawing oft" and two bolting, spiking and 
boring. 

In the llamboo log gang there will be required five or si.x men. 
who will cut and raft the bamboo and put it on the jetties. The 
men and team em])lo_\ed in the mill logging gang would be trans- 
ferred u]) the river U])on completion of the work of cutting and 
hatding logs for the mill, and be set to work cutting tbe piling. 

At the brick yard will be required one cook and four men be- 
sides the boss. The lime burning will require one boss, one 
cook, two strikers and two handlers for a short time only. The 
tar making mill recjuires three or four men, for rnlv a short 
time, including a coojjcr. The vegetable garden, two men for a 
short time and one man for the season. 

lUiilding the streets at I'atuca. the water works, sewer and 
drainage will require about two dozen to three dozen men, if 
the works are all going on at the same time, and about one dozen 
on the wharf and buildings and 12 men and 6 pack mules on 
land sur\'ey, hut as these works will not be undertaken until the 
jetties are built, the same men employed on them and the log- 
ging camps will be transferred to these works. 

NUMBER OF ^lEX REQLIRED. 

There will then be required about 60 common laborers and 
40 mechanics and officers when the works are under full head- 
way. The first expedition will require about 10 officers and 
mechanics, including General ]\Ianager, Assistant Engineer. Clerk, 
Captain and Engineer of tug boat. Doctor, Master Carpenter. 
two carpenters and mill man. All the mechanics and officers 
should be men who will purchase lands and become colonists. 

75 



TBIE REQUIRED. 

The first expedition will only have to lay out the part of the 
town nearest the wharf, so that the proper sites for the Quarters 
and store house can be determined, and erect these two build- 
ings readv for the coming of the main expedition, which could 
be timed to arrive two weeks later. 

When the main expedition arrives, all the energies will be de- 
voted to getting out the lumber for the jetties. I estimate that 
six months will be required to set up the saw^ mill and cut the 
timber, get out the piling and bamboo and prepare the iron. 

With the lumber and piling all ready, the rock quarrying can 
easily keep up with the other part of the jetty construction, and 
I estimate that with two gangs working and no bad luck or acci- 
dents, destructive storms or strikes, etc.. that the jetties can both 
be completed in nine months. There will then remain the Custom 
House, the Wharf, AA'ater AA'orks. Sewers. Streets. Land Survey- 
ing, etc. 

These various works will occupy about a year and a half, mak- 
ing about three years to complete the works, leaving out the Toom 
Toom Dam and River Revetment at Patuca and improvements, 
if any are required, on the upper river. 



..<=^|, 



7(i 



SECOND PART. 



1-IUI r TRADE. 

In lliis coniK'C'ioii I lia\ c only s])ace to mention a few facts 
in rclalii )n to tliis trade. 

Jn 1877, fruit trade from llondnras Ijei^im with a little 
schooner. I'hv same year .s. ( )teri. of Xew ( )rleans, put on 
first steamer, the 1'.. [>. W'aid 

In 1880, 2 small steamers put on. 

In iScSo, Illinois Central K. I\. hauled 143 cars of bananas 
from New ( )rleans. 

In 1S81, Illinois CV-nlral 1\. 1\. hauled from Xew ( )rleans 370 
cars of bananas, each car coniainiui;' 500 bunches. 

In 18S7, same l\. I\. hauled ,^500 cars. 81 percent, from Hon- 
duras. 

In 1887, January to September (included) there were 136 car- 
goes, ecpial to 1 .298. 261; bunches. ship])ed from Honduras to 
New Orleans. 

In 1888, Illinois Central R. R. hauled 4.300 cars, 74 ])er cent, 
from Honduras. 

In 1888. 8 fruit steamers were running- between the Xorth 
Coast of Honduras and Xew ( )rleans ]K'r month, or 12 to all 
Central American ])orts. 

In 1888, the Atlas line brouQlit an average of 8 cargoes per 
month to Xew Yt>rk. Sc^me days as many as 10 car loads of 
bananas were shipped over the Pennsylvania R. R. from X'ew 
York to the mining- towns oi Penn. Large quantities are shi]:)- 
ped to Boston direct from H^onduras. The largest vessels, like 
the "lircakwater," cair now carry 30,000 bunches in layers. 

In 1889, there were 3 lines of steamers, 16 vessels, making 
regular trips, each A-essel carrying from 8000 to 15.000 bunch- 
es. 

The business from the X'orth Coast of Honduras amounted 
in 1899 to $600,000, and it has continued to increase and has 
built up the following towns : Ceiba, Bonitillo, Jttana Lopez, 
Piedra Pintata. Omanita, El Palmiras, Cofradia, Port Ruchard, 

77 



Cienquita, Tulian. Puerto Tresagio, Progresso and several 
others. Ceiba was founded in 1880, and now has between 
5,000 and 6,000 inhabitants, all attracted thither by the banana 
trade. 

BLUEFIELDS CHANNEL, BUT ELEA^EN FEET DEEP. 

Bluefields, Nicaragua, in 1888 was only a miserable collec- 
tion of cabins with about 1,000 inhabitants, all but about two 
dozen of which were Indians and Negroes. To-day it has 
8,000 inhabitants with active merchants who buy great quanti- 
ties of bananas. Banana planting was begun there in 1887, 
when I was in Nicaragua. The channel into Bluefields is but 

11 feet deep. It is stated that 20 million bunches of bananas 
are imported yearly into the United States. 

The following is the estimate of profits of banana planting 
as made by Dr. R. Fritzgartner, Ph. D., the late Government 
Geologist of Honduras and Director of the IMint. 

Keeping clean the plantation ist and 2nd year, at 5.00 pesos 
per cleaning, makes the total cost per manzana, 30.00 pesos, 
equal to $12.60. ist year's crop, 300 salable bunches. 2nd 
vears' crop, 400 salable bunches, at 25 centavos, equals $325.00, 
minus cost of cleaning, equals pesos, 295.00, equals $123.90 
American money per manzana, or $71.62 per acre profit. 

Two men Avill clear i manzana of heavily timbered land in 
10 or 15 days. The brush is then burned and plants set out 
5 vards apart ; i man can plant 100 per day. It fruits in 10 to 

12 months, large enough to ship, the fruit being shipped green. 
Common wages "^o to 75 centavos per dav, or 21 to 31 cents 
(gold). 

For 50 miles up the Paluca river the land on each side is rich 
and strong, and, above all, pre-eminently adapted to bananas. 
In fact no better land can be found anvwhere for this fruit, 
and there arc now 194 small banana plantations in bearing, 
belonging to llie Indians, but they are of nt^ \ahie mUil the 
bar is o])cne(l, as it is impossible to ship them. 

.\D\\\NTAGb:S nV PATUCW HARBOR. 

The liarI)or of I'atuca will l)e the most ]-)rolectetl and safest 
harbor on tlu' Xorth Ct)asl of Honduras and. although small, 
in many res])ects the best. While Puerlo Ct^rtez is open to 
AW'st and Northwest winds, and the hca\ y swells from tlie 
North roll in \ery unpleasantl}' in Xorthers. so tliat in heavy 



gales, with the wind from these quarters, schooners and small 
vessels have to haul out, Patuca is perfectly land locked and 
safe in any gale from any direction. The approaches from 
sea to the mouth of Patuca river are clear and unobstructed, 




RriiisER Tkke Amon« Bananas. 

and there are no reefs or shallows. There is good holding 
ground outside in 3 to 10 fathoms for 3 miles off the bar. The 
100 fathom line is 20 miles off. The nearest shoal is 28 miles 
east by N. E. 



79 



Patiica, situated as it is on the Xorth Coast of Honduras, 
is outside of tlie reg'ion of hurricanes. In the Standard Physi- 
cal Atlas of Prof. Johnson is found a chronological table of the 
principal hurricanes that have occurred in the AA'est Indies 
during the 162 years from 1675 to 1837. and during that time 
but one has touched the coast of Honduras. 



HEALTH, TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL. 

In regard to health, I would respectfidly refer you to my 
preliminary report. I have now lived 19 months in Honduras, 
and never enjoyed better health in my life, not having had, 
during the time, a single touch of fever or any other sickness. 
Three months of this time were spent on the north coast, 
during Avhat is generally knoAvn as the sickly season, but I 
did not see or hear of an}- climatic sickness whatever, either 
among the natives or foreigners. Erom an experience of over 
four years' residence on the i\Iosc|uito Coast, in this State and 
the adjoining one of Nicaragua, I consider the reports as to 
their unheathfulness to be gross exaggerations. I know from 
my own experience and my family's, and that of some 500 
unacclimated white men from the United States, who composed 
my engineering and construction corps and general staff at 
headquarters on the Nicaragua Canal for over two years, that 
any person, male, female or child of good health and general 
constitution, no matter how delicately raised, can come from 
the North and live on the Mosquito Coast in perfect health, 
provided they take the least care of themselves, do not indulge 
to excesss in intoxicating liquors, and do not build their 
houses and attempt to live in a swamp or land subject to peri- 
odic overflow. If, howcA'er, they violate all hygienic, sanitary 
and moral laws, thev A\ill incur the penalt\- of sickness in Hon- 
duras as well as elsewhere. In fact, the highlands of Hondu- 
ras will yet be recognized as a sanitarium for all persons 
afflicted with consumption, catarrh or any bronchial affections, 
or who suffer from malarial or low coast fevers. 



CO.MI'AKl-: WITH U. S. CITIES. 

The death rate of Honduras in 1S87 was 18. 8() ])cr i.ooo, and 
in 1899, for the City of Tegucigalpa was but 14.04. I^""or the 
Department of Colon it was (1887) ^4.49, and for Olancho 
i<;.53, which compare \ery fa\-orablv with an\- cities in the 

80 



States, and this with the total lack of all sanitary arrange- 
ments for which all Spanish-American cities arc notorious. 



TR.MI'F.kA'ri'RK. 

The temperature of different places in Honduras \aries 
greatly, the low coast lands being; hot. while the hiiiher lands 
of the interior are colder, in i)roportion to their elevation above 
the sea, until on some of the high mountain peaks frost is ex- 
perienced in winter. Temperature falls one degree F. for 
every 288 feet oi elevation. The following thernionietrical 
readings were taken by Mr. Thomas Young, at the mouth of 
the Ri\or Xegro, 44 miles west of Patuca. They were taken 
daily at the middle of the day. for one year. Although these 
were taken se\eral years ago. the climate has not changed. 

Fahrenheit. 
Month. .Mean. I 'rexailiuL;- winds. 



Rulinir climate. 



Temp. 

O o 

Jan. 62 to 66 Xorlh and West 



Good, when there is a 
dry norther. 

F'eb. 66 to 70 

Mar. 70 to 74 \'ariable between Dry. 
brec/^es and X. E. 

Apr. 74 to 76 X'. F. and breezes. (Xarrative of a resi- 

dence on the Mosqui- 
to Coast, etc.. by 
Thomas Young, Lon- 

May 78 Strong In-eezcs X. E. don. 1847.) 

June 78 to 82 ' 

July 82 Damp. 

Aug. 84 to 86 Light and variable 

airs and calms. Drv. 

Sept. 84 to 86 

Oct. 78 liree-^es. some light Dry or damp, according 

northers. to the wind. 

X^ov. /2 & less X^orth. Damp, good weather 

Avhen there is a dry 
norther. 

Dec. 62 to 66 Damp. 

Mean 74.17 75.75 

"X^otes : The climate here is equable, only varving during 

the year from 62 to 86 Fahrenheit, so they never have excessive 

heat, as the greater part of the year is tempered by agreeable 

81 



sea breezes and some times by the cooling" dry northers.'' 

The following observations were made in the vicinity of 
Carataska Lagoon, about. 35 miles east of Patuca, by an illus- 
trious Prussian Commission composed of Messrs. Miiller, 
Jellechner and Hese, between the 13th of June and the 2nd 
of Augut, 1844. 

Fahrenheit. 
Time of day Temperature. 

6 A.M. 78.5 During this time the wind blew constantly 

from E. 
II " " 83.1 £., X., E. or N. E. with the exception 
3 P. M. 83.4 of 3 days in June from the S. W. and one day 

7 P. M. 82. in Jul}- from the N. W. 
Minimum of temperature was 61 on July 2nd. 
Maximum of temperature was 85 on July 4th. 

At the mouth of the Patuca river I caused thermometer 
readings to be taken from September 14th to 28th, 

The higliest observed was go at i P. M., Sept. 25th, and 

The lowest observed was 76 at 7 A. M., Sept. 20th. 

The mean of 14 observations between the 14th and 28th Avas 

During this time the prevailing v/ind was from the E. and 
S. E., with light land breezes from the S. W. and calms in the 
forenoon, with showers at night. 

Some of the lands in the Grant to your Company have an eleva- 
tion of 3,000 to 4,000 feet above the sea, and in this elevated 
region it will be desirable to estaljlish our hcs]:)ital. This may be 
on the slopes of Sugar Loaf Mountain, Poyas Peak, or in the 
Colon A.Iountains, and a plantation should lie made there by the 
Company, or some person connected with it, which would serve 
as a Sanitarium for persons living on the low lands and would 
afiford a desirable retreat in the h(it nmnths, \\hich could be 
reached in a day or day and a half. 

RAIXl'ALL. 

Tnfnrmation on tliis jioint is \cr\- meagre. T cannot find 
that any record of rainfall has been l<;eiU in .^])anish Honduras 
e.\ce])t in C"oma\agua, by Mr, I".. I'. Maxes, an F.nglish civil 
engineer, and also a report from .^an I'edro Sula. He reports 
as follows : 

82 



Comavagua Minimum 42 inches, per year. 
^Maximum 132 

from 7 P. M. to II A. ^l. on one night in Au- 
gust, 1899, there was a fall of 36 inches. 

San Pedro Sula, 1895, 230 inches. 

It is stated, by the Government Geologist, Dr. R. Fritz- 
gartner, that the mean rainfall of the Avhole of Honduras is a 
little over 90 inches per year. 

The rainy season, called winter (invierno), commences in 
Mav and lasts until November. 

The dry season, called summer (verano), begins in Xovem- 
ber and lasts until May. 

The rainfall of a country bears a direct relation to its agri- 
culture, its transportation, its sanitary condition, and to all 
studies for water supply, electric lighting, drainage, sewerage. 
river navigation and hydraulic works. For this reason I 
would recommend that a careful record be kept at Patuca and 
also at our up river stations. 

GAME AND FISH. 

These are so abundant that they will form a ready, cheap 
and stable food supply to our workmen. For this purpose 
two large drag seines, 150 and 300 feet long each, should be 
supplied for use at Patuca bar. On the upper part of the river 
in Olancho, deer are so abundant that some of the mining- 
camps there employ a hunter, who l^rings in regularly a deer 
everv day, and sometimes two and three. AA'ild musk hogs 
and Mexican peccary, excellent eating, are also abundant. 
Tapirs, weighing 800 to 1,200 lbs. each, are so abundant along 
the river as far up as I went, that no matter where a person 
landed the soft ground would be found trodden into paths 
and with their tracks as numerous as cow tracks in a cattle 
pen. The flesh is excellent. I shot three of these animals in 
Nicaragua. Deer abound on the savannas and pine lands. 

Wild turkey of three varieties, quail, ducks, four kinds of 
pigeons and doves, curlew, snipe and grouse abound. .Mso 
armadillos, raccoons, opossums, Indian rabbit or agouti, an 
animal resembling a rabbit, but with hoofs and short ears, 
the common rabbit, the jibeonita, nnich esteemed for fond, 
and lastly the manitee or sea cow. weighing TioO' ti^ 1.000 lbs., 
and excellent eating. 

There are no bears. 1'here are also a great ([uantity of sea 
and fresh water turtles, the fornVvT lieing tlie celebrated green 

84 



turtles, and tliey lay ilieir eggs on the Patuca beach and ad- 
joining cays in great numbers, which are highly esteemed for 
food. It will be much better to employ a hunter and live on 
fresh game, rather than to in\ite scurvy by eating salted and 
preserved meats. 

LANDS ()!• Till-: CRAXT. 

100,000 HECTARES 247,100 ACRES. 

In regard to the lands cranted to your Company, but little 
definite and detailed information can be given at this time 
until more thoroughly explored. All the histories of the 
country, the report of the last census, and accounts of trav- 
elers, hunters, cattle-men and surveyors agree that this is, by 
far, the richest part of Honduras, although at present almost 
a terra incognita. 

Scjuircs, in his book on Central America, says that "the 
geography of the lower Patuca ri\er is the richest and most 
beautiful in Central America." 

In a re])ort made by Haly, Upton and Deacon in 1884. they 
say" tliat "the savannas along this river are not swampy like 
those of tlie coast and they have a black and fertile soil." 
The land is of great variety, all admirably adapted for the cul- 
tivation of sugar-cane, cacao (chocolate), coffee, cotton and 
indigo. There are immense quantities of mahogany, cedar, 
rosewood and Santa Maria, and there is found throughout the 
valley inexhaustible quantities of good pine and oak and 
abundance of sarsa])arilla, rubber, copal and vanilla." This 
is all true to-day. They think that "an establishment at the 
mouth, sustained by navigation on the river and roads to the 
interior, will be in a short time the most important on the 
coast." 

My own limited observations bear out these assertions. 

The land, generally speaking, all along this part of the 
coast, is low and swampy and imdesirable for the most part. 
This is succeeded by rolling hard pine lands, soil brown or 
chocolate in color, gravelly and poor on the tops of the hills, 
but rich and fertile in the little swales and valleys, with clear 
little brooks coursing through them, and all eminently adapted 
for the raising of pineapples, oranges, lemons, mangoes, sweet 
potatoes, garden truck, cotton and tobacco. These pine lands 
alternate with wade level savannas, dotted Avith groves of 
palms, 'and these in turn by the foot hills and valleys that are 
.succeeded in places by high mountains, the slopes of which 

85 



are clothed with hard wood and \\hite pine antl cedar, between 
which lay long rich valleys dotted with trees of dififerent kinds. 

"The pine and savanna land is about 20 to 25 miles wide 
from the sea to the foot hills, which are clothed with virgin 
forest. This pine land is excellent farming and grazing land." — 
(Mayes.) 

TIMBER. 

The country lying between the Patuca River and the Nica- 
ragua boundary is almost unknown and is only inhabited by 
Indians of the Toaca tribe, except on the immediate coast, 
where dwell the Caribs and Zambos. The streams running 
into Carataska and Brewer's Lagoons have been ascended 
and are reported to contain large c[uantities of mahogany on 
their banks. The same is true of the affluents of the Patuca 
on both sides. All the mountain slopes are reported to 
abound in mahogany and cedar, some of the latter reaching 
20 feet in diameter as I am credibly informed by ■Mr. E. P. 
Mayes, a civil engineer of long residence and extensive travel 
in this country. Indians of the Poyas tribe, part of the great 
ancient nation of Xicaques, live on the left or west side of 
the Patuca, up to the Rio Negro and the land is rich and well 
timbered. There is but little hard pine on this side of the 
river, the larger part of this timber being found between the 
Patuca and Carataska Lagoon. 

At the vicinity of Gualpitanti the valley or water shed of 
the Patuca is about 30 miles wide and going up it soon grows 
narrower. Below this point T am unable to state the width, 
as the forests were so dense it was impossible to determine 
it at any point, without stopping and making an excursion 
on one side, which T did not have the time at mv disposal to 
undertake. 



LENGTH OF RTN'ER. 

At the 8 kilometer limit 1 should judge that it might he 15 
to 10 miles wide, and all tin- richest and most desirable land 
for bananas and sugar cane that can be found in the world. 
In some places the \alle\- is over 50 miles wide. 

The Patuca River, which rises in the uK^untains of Teguci- 
galpa, flows through the center of ytnir grant for a distance 
estimated at 150 miles by the river and has numerous tribu- 
taries. Mr. E. P. .Mayes. ci\il engineer, tells nic he went up 

8(5 



i8o miles in a launch drawinj:^ two feet, at a mean staiie of 
the ri\er, with a party of Enfjlish naval officers, making a 
compass reconnaisance of the river. 

It takes its name from a chief f)f th? I'oxa Indians called 
Butuco, whose head(|uarters were at the mouth of the river, 
where the present town is. The hjiv;lish corrupted it i?ito 




Banana I'i.ants Six Muni lis Old. 

Patook, and the Spanish made it Patuca. There are nine 
Indian villages on the Patuca River, including- the one at the 
mouth, which latter is mostly composed of Zambos and 
Negroes from Belize. Those up the river are Poyas and 
Toacas. The villages are all on the right bank, except Patuca 
and Sikia Pijini, as descril:)e(l in my preliminary report, and 



87 



their names, eommencing with Patnca, are: Ulan, Cropunto 
(Shrimp Point), Ducban, Habas-Dneban, Giialpitanti, Anjia 
Pijini, Wanke Bila and Sikia Pijini. 

Ines Xavarro, an assistant editor of "The Pabellon," a 
newspaper of Tegucigalpa, writing in the issue of August 
I2th, 1899, says : 

"For the commercial development of the country the rivers 
of the Mosquito territory are of immense value. Above all 
of them, the Patuca is the first, from this point of view, of 
the Atlantic coast, after the San Juan of Nicaragua. It is an 
ornament of nature in Olancho and will carry in time, the 
immense productions of this, the richest zone, to the waters 
of the Atlantic. 

"According to the illustrious Squiers its watershed is the 
richest in Central America. 

"According to Senator Senor Alelquizedec Zuliga F.chen- 
ique, who explored it in the year 1897, by order of the Gov- 
ernment of Honduras, it always preserves, at the lowest stage, 
except at the mouth, from 6 to 8 feet of water, up to where 
the wide Guayambre enters it. Pasqual Cano. a merchant of 
Catacamas, has purchased merchandise on the coast and 
brought it up in boats to within 2^ leagues from that city. 
Every day the principal men of Olancho are pledging them- 
selves to convert it into a great water way for their com- 
merce. The navigation of the Patuca, however, is not only 
of interest to this department, but it is of national interest." 

Going up the river from Patuca village the first trilmtarv is 
Black Creek on the right bank (left going up). This is a 
deep and sluggish flowing fresh w^ater creek, about 80 to 100 
feet wide, and the color of its waters indicate that it rises and 
flows through swamps. It is said, at high water, that a canoe 
can pass via this creek into Carataska Lagoon. .\t 24V2 
miles we come to Toom Toom Creek or the "Cut-oft"." which 
flows out of the Patuca River on the west side and forms a 
pass to IJrewer's Lagoon, discharging nearly L? oi the water 
that would otherwise ])ass l:)y Patuca village. 

About 63/4 miles above Toom Toom Pass \vc come to the 
Upurra Creek, "river of the retreat." also called Kipany 
Creek, about 15 miles long, flowing in from the west side. 
^^\' then ]Kiss two creeks llmving in from the east side and 
altiiut 15 and 10 miles l'»rg each. ( ^ne (M' tliese is kntnvn as 
the Rio .\r\-as. about 14'-' miles abo\e the I'lmrra, the other 
the Kankirira. This and the former head in the foot hills. 
The Indian town of ( lualpitanti is according to my recon- 

88 



naisance about 75 miles by the river from the sea. cr about 
45 miles direct, and •)4 of a mile above this, the (iualpitauti 
Creek comes in from the east side. This creek is said to be 
about 9 or 10 miles lonij and its mouth is just at the base of 
the foot bills. 

The next is the Cayamel or Cuyamel on the west. 9 miles 
above the Huampu or Vampu. and 10 miles lono^. 

The next stream shown on the map is the (iuineo or lianana 
River, with two lars:e branches, which empties into the 
Patuca from the cast, on the division line l)etween the de- 
partment of ( )lancho and the Comarca or territory of Mos- 
<]uitia. and which is 28 miles lono; and heads in the Colon 
Mountains, which are the eastern extension of the Tomposenta 
Mountains, about 15 miles from the river Coco or Wanks, 
wdiich forms the boundary between Honduras and Xicara.e^ua. 

I'ctwcen the river Caiineo and the Wasspressni are two {2) 
small towns. Caoba and Campamento. on the east l)ank. and 
just abo\e. where the road froui Catacamas strikes the ri\er, 
in the village of Camjianero, all in our grant. 

Uetween ibcse last namc(l rivers, two other unnamed 
streams — about 10 lo 15 miles long — enter from the west, 
heading in the eastern part of the Juticalpa Mountains. 

The next stream coming in from the west is the Wass- 
pressni (roaring water), about 15 miles l(jng. A short dis- 
tance above the mouth of this river the road from Catacamas 
strikes Patuca Ri\-er, between Campamento and Culmi, 
where our na\igation line ends, and the concession to How- 
land begins, which extends to the Portal del Infierno (Hell 
Gate), a distance of about ^2 miles direct and 56 by bends of 
river according to Mr. Robert Cleaves, mining engineer, who 
lately returned from a reconnaissance of it. The Patuca 
River, a short distance al)0\e this point, is formed by the 
confluence of the Guayape and the Guayambre rivers and the 
Jalan, all gold bearing streams, from 40 to 120 miles long. 
All these affluents of the Patuca in the mountains and foot 
hills are gold bearing. 

Your concession is also watered in the ^vest b}- the rivers 
Agalta, 120 miles long, and Paulaya, 21 miles, and other 
branches of the Rio Xegro. Also by the Guamaca, 15 miles 
long, Avhich empties into Ebon Lagoon near the eastern end, 
Platano or Plantain, 85 miles long, empt^'ing into the ocean 
5 miles west of l^)rewer's Lagoon, and by the Secre or Sigri, 
45 miles long, and the Truscrua or Canas River, about 20 
miles long, both of which debouch into Brewer's Lagoon, 



called Cartina by the Indians and Brus by the Spaniards. 
The lands bordering Brewer's Lagoon, are low and flat on the 
south and east, being great selvas or grass savannas, with 
occasional ponds of fresh water, merging gradually into flat 
pine land, the long leaved hard yellow pine, excellent grazing 
land. At the south-west corner of the lagoon the land appears 
higher. 

In Brewer's Lagoon are three small islands; the largest 
about two miles in circumference, now called Cannon. Island, 
was fortified by the English and was also headquarters of 
some of the buccaneers that infested these seas in the early 
part of the last century. This island is about loo or 125 feet 
high, and on the seaward summit I found three old iron cannon 
(6 pounders) with their wooden carriages almost completely 
decayed. There are good oysters in the lagoon and great 
quantities of fish and wild fowl. It is at this island we will 
get our rock for the jetties, as explained in my preliminary 
report. There are about 50 people living in the two Indian 
villages on the lagoon. One village is called Brewers and the 
other Ben. 

LEMONS. 

Rol)ert;s savs "the country towards the south is beautiful and 
varied by high range of hills, valleys and savannas and the 
soil, generally speaking-, is excellent. There is from 6 to 7 feet 
of water on the (lagoon) bar." The Rio Xegro empties into 
Ebon Lagoon, which is about 15 miles long and 6 wide, and 
6 miles west of Brewer's Lagoon. The lagoon contains sev- 
eral small islands, which were culti\-ated 1\\- the I'^nglish. The 
Carib \'illage of Tocomachu is situated at the western end of 
Ebon lagoon, sometimes called L'ril)a, or I\io Xegro Lagoon. 
The Carib town of Criba is at the eastern end. It is said that 
the creeks and lagoons form almost a continuous water com- 
munication from Caratasca lagoon to Tocomacho. On the 
Rio Xegro, near Ebon lagoon, .Mr. Allen l'>runner, of Chicago, 
has a large lemon gro\e. 1 was presented with some of these 
lemons when on that coast last autunm and found them to 
be a \'er}- sui)erior class of I'ruii : large, thin skinned, few 
seeded and, I'nll of juice. Tlie gro\e is situate<l on pine lantl, 
with higli i)ine trees simil.'ir to that already described ant) 
ver}' beautiful, as if arranged b\ a skillful gardeutu'. 

This is onl\- S miU's fnnii su^ar loaf or ranoehe Peak. 



around the eastern base of which flows the Rio Xegro. 
Young says, "tlie u])per part of the river flows through very- 
rich land and the cliniale is h.ealth}-." 

The i^3ng]ish many years ago had a settlement i6 miles up 
the ri\er, near a ])lace called the Aiountains of Lowry. which 




l?.vi!i!A(<>vi>A. FnE FicicT Long. ('ali;iit at Ska. m t I'aiic a. 

was abandoned !)}• treaty with Spain in 1787. Subsequently 
it was the seat of the 1 o}as nation of Indians. In 1839 and 
t8|I it was again occupied by the English, who called the 
district \'ictoria Pro\-ince. The fort was called "Fort W'ell- 



91 



ington." The current of the river is strong. Air. Thomas 
Young, previously quoted, says : "Coming down the river is 
low. but the lands are rich and covered with wood and varied 
with bamboo and palms. A little lower down are swamps 
full of willows. The savannas commence where the river 
enters the Criba lagoon. This land is sterile and unfit for cul- 
tivation, but covered with a multitude of deer." 

Columbus entered the mouth of this river on his 4th voyage 
in 1502 and took possession of the country. In 1742 the 
English built a fort here, the remains of which are still vis- 
ible. They evacuated in 1786. Columbus called it "River of 
the Possession." It was later called Rio Tinto. It is navig- 
able from 40 to 70 miles and has from 5 to 9 feet of water on 
the bar. The river is also known as the Payer, Palyer. Payas. 
Black. Cico. Grande, Agalta and Poyas. It is 120 miles long 
and there are about 9 small villages inhabited by Poya In- 
dians and a few Spanish. The land on this river is described 
as very fertile. 

That part of vour grant l}'ing to the eastward of the Patuca 
is watered by the following rivers : The Tibacunta or Tabo- 
cunta, about 22 miles long, which empties into the Carribean 
Sea about half way between the mouth of the Patuca River 
and Carataska Lagoon, flowing out of the western end of said 
lagoon. 

According to the best maps that I can obtain, the following 
rivers that water your grant flow into Carataska lagoon, or its 
connecting lakes or lagoons, beginning with the most western 
and going east : The Guarunto, variously given as 75 to 50 
miles long, which flows into Guarunto lagoon, connecting 
with Carataska ; the Gibentara, 65 miles long, flowing into 
Gibentara lagoon ; the Locca, 18 miles long, flowing into 
Gibentara lagoon ; the Guaranta or Guarunto, flowing into 
the same, and variously stated as 17 or 55 miles long; the 
Caucari. 21 miles long, flowing into the same: the Croats. 
Croatch or Cirarach. one branch of which flows into the Ca- 
ribbean Sea at Cape False and another into Caratasca Loch, 
and the Tiburcana. ij miles long, flowing into the sea between 
Cape False and Ca]:)e Gracias a Dios. 

Carataska lagoon, in the /ambo tongue L aratasva, or great 
alligator, is 35 to 37 miles long and 10 to 12 miles wide, count- 
ing Gibentara and Guarunto lagoons, which form jiart of it. 
se])arate(l l)y numerous islands covered with jiines. The 
depth on tlu- l)ar is T2 to 14 feet, and it is said to be a good 
harl)or. inside, with from 6 to 12 and 18 feet of water. Oi- 

92 



rectly west of Carataska lagoon, or Cartasjo. and connecting: 
with it l)y a short passage, lies Tilbalacca Lake, from 5 to 10 
miles in diameter, and 3 to 5 miles east of the Patuca River 
at Cnipunto. 1"his lake has several small tributaries. 

ACCOLXT ol ihc I'.kl'I'ISIf l-:S'rAr.LlSH.ME\TS in 
CFATRAL .\.\M:KI(".\, L()XI)()X. 1811. 

Captain Hend'jrson. commander of the garrison uf lieli/.e, 
describes the country in the vicinity of the lagoon, as "a spa- 
cious savanna, completelv level, covered with verdure and a 
good ])asturage. Ixjunded on one side by the waters of the 
lagoon and on the other by :i high chain of hills. The hemis- 
pherical tops of the ])ines and high trees, gracefully spaced, 
give an agreeable \ista and ap])earance of artificial cultiva- 
tion, presenting a beautiful relief." 

ACCorXI" Ol- TRWICLS in the l-.AST (/( ).\S'r AXD 

ix'ri<:ki()k ( h' li-.xtkal aaii^kica. 

nV OLAXDO W. KOKKKIS, Kl ►! .\ liL'KGU, 1827. 

Roberts says, "the lands adjoining the lagoon are for llie 
greater part beautiful savaiuias covered with good pasturage 
and a great many deer. They have some pines in the lago;)n 
of Carataska and towards the south there are hills full oi 
woods of construction as much as in any ])art of the coast 
Back of these the savannas are crossed by high range of hills, 
whose summits are covered with a most exuberant vegetation. 
On the margins of the rivers that How from the interior, there 
is excellent mahogany and cedar of the best (jualit}' and 
largest size. I'epper and various other valuable indigenous 
plants are also found." 

Apuntaiiiiciitos solve Cciifro .Inicrica par E. G. Sqiiicr. Dip- 
lomatico dc los Jisfados L'liidos, Paris. 1856. 

FORESTS OF PIXE. 

Mr. Percy B. Keene. an English merchant of Perspire. Hon- 
duras, who has lived a dozen years in Honduras and Nica- 
ragua and has traveled all over the North Coast and to the 
rivers, Patuca and X'egro. tells me that "between the Patuca 
and Tabacunta a beautiful cocotal, or pine ridge, comes down 
to the shore of the sea," and he describes it as a desirable 
country for settlement and colonization and that there are a 

y3 



great many cocotals, or cocoanut gToves, around Carataska 
lagoon, on the sea side near the numerous Carib and Zambo 
villages, of which there are four, viz: Ouhe, Carta or Cartago, 
Orabella or Yarria Bila. and Cowcara or Contoon. He says, 
"there is plent}- of mahogany on the streams emptying into the 
lagoon and also on the Negro river and branches and that the 
whole Patuca valley is eminently adapted for the cultivation 
of rubber and bananas." 

GEOLOGY AND FORESTS. 

]\Ir. E. P. ?itayes, a well known civil engineer of Honduras, 
formerly from England, informed me that he once made a 
survev from the Nicaragua boundary to the Patuca River, 
about five miles from the sea. and he reports, "the land is 
fiat, rich savanna and selvas or grass land, alternating with 
low rounded hills, covered with hard yellow pine, the tops of 
the hills gravelly, while the bottoms are rich soil and all very 
desirable for haciendas and plantations. 

"The savannas and pine land extend inland about 30 miles 
from the sea and are succeeded bv the foothills clothed with 
the primeval forest. Tho country is not generally much 
broken in the foot hills, but there are large plateaus nearly 
level, but cut by numerous arroyas or swift running streams 
and crossed by ranges of hills, which gradually merge into 
mountains, some 4,000 feet high. These mountains are com- 
])Osefl largelv of white mountain limestone of the lower car- 
boniferous, overlying micaschists and lower down occurs 
marble and nuartzose conglomerate and Permian magnesian 
limestones. Tliese elevated lands cannot be excelled for 
coffpp. \':beit. Trish potatoe-^, c-x^v.o (chocolate) etc.. etc." 

This whole region is a terra incognita. 

The southeastern boundarx- of your grant is the large river, 
\'ariously known as tlie \\ rinks. L'^Kn, Seg'nia. PTerbias. ^'are, 
Cabo and Oro, which sei^arates klonduras from the Republic 
of Nicaragua. 

This ri\-er is J05 miles li'ug. measuring its general course, 
and al)out 300 l)v the bends, and has numerous short tribu- 
taries on the PTonduras side, wliicli irrigate }(mr grant. The 
first of these, ascending llie stream, is the T,i\-ings Creek, 
wbicli is a cut-off or i)ass, leaving the main rixer on the west 
side. 10 miles above the mouth and forming two other mouths 
in the sea, about miles and 8 milvs west of the main mouth. 
resjM'iM i\rl\-. We tlien dmio. 3'' niili-s uji. to the Somote. a 

94 



creek about lo miles long, coming' in from the west. About 
45 miles up, ))}■ the general direction of the river, from the 
same side comes in the river Comali. formed of several 
branches, and about 21 miles long, heading in the northern 
end of the Colon Mountains. \\'e then pass two short streams, 
names unknown, running down from the same mountains, 
and at 71 miles we find the Ticaro. about 11 miles long, with 
two branches of nearly equal length. At j^ miles the Sole- 
tetinge River comes in from your grant about 8 miles long, 
and at 95 miles, the Cujunu'. 15 miles long. 

The first rapids, called W'uiwas. Tirlas and Ouipisque 
rapids, are met at 106 miles, by iln- general course of the 
stream, which wonld 1k" about 1 5(j or 175 b\- the bends of the 
river. 

There are se\eral other unnamed streams of about the 
same length. .\11 of these head in the Colon Mountains, which 
range runs parallel with the general course of the Wanks 
River, and tlu' sumniils about 15 miles north-west from the 
river and in your grant, unless upon examination it should 
be found undesirable land, and you should ])refer to take lauvi 
elsewdiere. 

The \\ anks ri\er takes its rise only So miles from the 15ay 
of Fonseca, on the I'acitie. and empties into the Caribbean Sea 
at Cape (iraeias a I )ios. It lias a bad bar with only 4 or 5 feet 
of water, probably owing to the fact that the river forms a 
delta with four mouths. It is navigable for boats drawing 
2 feet, 100 miles by the ri\rr from the mouth. It is very 
likely that the bar at the mouth of the ri\-er could be im- 
proved by closing all but one jxiss. There is an Indian town 
(Mosquitos and Zambos) at the mouth on the extreme end 
of the Ca])e, on Honduras side, called Klakeehava or Haya 
and a "white settlement called Cape Ciracias just below the 
Cape, in Nicaragua. There are some 20 Indian villages on 
the north side of the ri\er. within the limits of your grant, 
inhabited by trilies of ^losc|uitt;s and W'aikas. These Indians 
are straight and small in stature; dark, thin li])pe(l, oval faces, 
aquiline noses and long, stiff, coarse jet black hair, that hangs 
to their shoulders on the men and is braided in a cue by the 
women. 

When 1 was the engineer in charge and general superin- 
tendent of the Nicaragua Canal in 1888-9 and '90. I sent up 
and procured about 300 of these men to work on the Canal 
and found them good workmen — tractable, willing and in- 
dustrious, although not so strong as larger races. 

95 



They raise quantities of plantains and bananas on the river. 

Above the head of Livings Creek and extending- 30 miles 
from the main river mouth, there are several lagoons, on the 
Honduras side in your grant, connecting with the river and a 
lage salt-water one just below in the bight of the Cape. 

60 miles up and extending for 10 miles more, are found 
several others, in your grant. The foot hills begin about 80 
miles up the river, the Prairies of Ocotal, or Pine Prairies, 
reaching that distance here, from the coast, but a short dis- 
tance north of the river on the Hcnduranean side, the foot hills 
begin at 30 miles from the coast. 

De Lussan, one of the chiefs of a party of French and En- 
glish pirates, who descended the Wanks River in 1688. coming 
from the Gulf of Fonseca, described the river as having "a long 
and rapid course by a vast number of rocks of prodigious size 
and over the most frightful precipices that can be considered 
as cascades, and which are not less than 100. It is impossible 
for a man not to tremble and lose his head to see and hear the 
fall of the water into these profound abysses." 

Many of the party were drowned. He also speaks of the 
''abundance of bananas growing on the margin of the ri\er 
and abundance of game." He says, "the part of the river 
below the rapids is verv good." 

Diario de un viaje etc. por el Senor Raveneau de Lussan. 
Londres, 1704. 

Don Francisco Trias of Honduras, who descended it. re- 
turned in 1842, says "it abounds in fish and the forests on the 
margins are rich in precious woods. All the countrv, below 
the rapids, through which the river passes is of extraordinary 
beatity, consisting of open plains covered with grass and scat- 
tering pine trees, that appear to be the same as those of Xortli 
Carolina. 

"Tt is ]iroiHM- for pastiu-ing cattle and will sustain a great num- 
ber, and for the establishment of colonies. Avhich in a short 
time will acquire rich ]:)roperties hv cidti\-ating the Airgin 
soil. 

"The Indians on the river have small plantations of plan- 
tains, yucca, cane and cotton, and from the latter the women 
make cloth and sails for their canoes. The climate at the 
Cape and all the river valley is healthv. Cai)e (iracias a Dios 
has a favorable and picturesque situation, and the section stir- 
rounding the Cape is beautiful." 

Roberts, before quoted, who passed several months at Cane 
Cracias a Dios, savs regarding the soil, that "in the x'icinity 

9(5 



of the Cape it is poor, and w iili the exception of a few patches 
of cassava, is incapable of jiroducing anything but coarse 
grass, which, however, serves for pasturage. Th-j animals of 
the chase are insignificant, and there is a great scarcity of 
good water, so that the Cape presents no advantages for agri- 
culture, although they can raise cattle. The ri\er enters the 
ocean a short distance to the north of the bay, with which it 
is connected by a channel, navigable for canoes and whicli 
a\-()i(ls the dangerous bar." 

Columbus discovered this river on September 14th, 1502, on his 
4th voyage. He called it the River Disaster, because some of 
his sailors drowned here, from one of his ship's boats, that 
attempted to cross the bar. 

"l"'()r 40 to 50 miles from the mouth," continues Roberts, 
"the land is low. sandy and poor, with some i)ine hills ha\ing 
intervals of good land." 

The following is co])ie(l from a "Memoir of the Mi^sijuito 
Coast, written by the Council of State of Jamaica and trans- 
mitted to the Tribunal of COnimerce and Agriculture in 1773." 

"The climate of the .Mos(juito Coast is more agreeable than 
any of the West Indian Islands and the air is more salul)rious, 
the land is well watered and excessively fertile. Tt is of the 
highest grade of richness. It presents everywhere not only 
the means of ])ro\-iding the necessities, but also living witli 
luxury. 

"Fish abound in the rivers, lagoons and sea, and great ciuan- 
tities of turtle are found on the coast, in such numbers that 
the like are not found in an e(|ual length of coast anywhere 
else in the world. Cotton, cacao • (chocolate) and vanilla 
flourishes in all the countr}-. Indigo is native and appears to 
be the same that is jiroduced in Guatemala, which is esteemed 
the best. Sugar cane grows l)etter than in any of the island.^ 
and mahogany and sarsaparilla is exported annually in such 
large quantity that it makes this establishment alreadv of the 
greatest importance to Great Ilritain ; 800.000 feet of the first 
and 200,000 pounds of the second, with 10,000 pounds of 
turtle meat, were shipped to England in 1769. There is more 
Campeche wood (dve wood) on the margins of the rivers aiid 
lakes than in au}- other part of Honduras." 

Turtles abound there to-day and great quantities of \'alu- 
able turtle-shell is gathered. 

j\Ir. A. J. iMiller, writing in the "Honduras Progress," 
described some extensive ruins of a stone city about 2 miles 
square on the Guampoo or A^ampu River, 10 miles from its 

97 



mouth, partly surrounded by a wall and containing many 
very interesting!: sculptures with carving- of heads of animals 
and' hieroglyphics, ^ir. \\\ AA'. Packer also reports ("Hon- 
duras Progress" Aug. 22, 1889,) finding ruins on a hill in the 
same region, probably the same as above described. He says, 
that there are also ruins on the Cuyumel and AA'asspressni 
rivers, with obelisks, paved streets, hieroglyphics, etc., on a 
small tributary of the Cuyumel. Also stone walls and earth- 
works near the little village of El Patasti near Catacamas. 
All these ruins, with the possible exception of the latter, are 
comprised wihin the limits of your grant. In some similar 
prehistoric ruins in Guatemala, large amounts of treasure 
have been found. 



AHNERALS. 

(In Olancho and Colon only.) Regarding the mineral riches 
of your grant absolutely nothing is known for want of even the 
most cursory examination. ^Marble, coal and oil are found on the 
north coast in several places and in apparently the same geological 
formations. The greater part of the stratified formations belong to 
the Permian, which overlies the carboniferous formation. Both 
of these horizons are known to contain coal. The Permian 
group is famous for its large yield of silver in ]\Iexico, Ger- 
man\- and Russia. 

Across the line in Nicaragua in what appears to be the same 
geological horizon, extensive and rich gold placers and cpiartz 
veins have been discovered and are now being extensively 
worked and judging from the reports that have reached me. 
in a very profitable manner. I heard wonderful stories of 
these rich diggings when in Patuca last fall and from other 
people from Nicaragua. 

Very nearly half of your concession lies in the Department 
of Olancho. the larger half being in the Department of Mos- 
quitia. The headquarters of the Patuca River and all its tribu- 
taries in Olancho are famous for their gold deposits and 
ha\-e been for 350 vears. I'rom lime immemorial the Indians 
of all the surrounding countrv have resorted to the Guayape. 
the Guayam1:)re and the jalan. to wa.sh for gold, and they still 
continue to do so. AA^onderful but well substantiated accounts 
arc given of the mar\-ellous finds in the early days of the 
Spanish possession. 

The large and costly cathedrals. l)uili of stone and cement. 
were, as the old .Spanish jiadres inform us, built almost en- 

98 



tircly Ijy the conlributions of the [lulian women, wlui washed 
the gold from the be<ls of the streams. Murcielago and .\le- 
man, on the (kiayape River, about 20 miles S. S. W. from 
Juticalpa. are famous localities. 

In 1853 the Indian women and boys washed S129.000 gold 
from the ("iua}ai)e. 




Native Woji.vx with BANANAf 



Dr. Charles Dorat, who \isited this district in 1853, says: 
"Apuntamientos sobre Centro America por E. G. Squier, 
Paris. 1856." 

"Among the rivers of Olancho, which w'e have visited and 



99 

LOfCi 



examined, the Gua3'ape and the Jalan are without any doubt 
the richest in their auriferous sands. We find gold in the allu- 
vial deposits, half a mile from the channel of the river. Leav- 
ing Juticalpa in a northwest direction and crossing" the de- 
partment to near Jocon in an area of 20 leagues in length and 
10 in width, there is not a rivulet, however insignificant it ma}^ 
be, that does not contain gold in its sands and in its margins. 
The greater part of these streams issue from the mountains 
and fall in the Guayape and Jalan. 

"There are some, among them the rivers Sisaca and ]\Ian- 
gulili (the last with more gold than the others), that unite 
to form the Mirajoco, which then takes the name of Taguale, 
and after having fertilized the beautiful valley of Olancho, 
disembogues in the sea near Truxillo. 

'Tn this river they find the gold deposited under the river 
bed. The best gold is that of the Guayape. Jalan and ]\[angulili, 
in the department of Olancho, and the Sulaco, Caimito and 
Pacaya in Yoro. 

"In Guijana they find gold in a soft rock and in San Felipe 
in a reddish ferruginous earth. About 5 miles from Danli the 
Jalan produces it good and abundant." 

The mining operations, so far, have been mostly carried on, 
on the upper Patuca River, here called Guayape, in a territory 
from 10 to 12 miles above your grant, to 100 miles, and about 
60 miles wide. 

Tn the Department of Olancho in 1887-8-9, there were 2/ 
gold and i silver mine denoimced. 

In 1888 there were 27 gold mines and prospects near \'ijao 
A placer claim is 1,000 hectares and a fissure claim 600 lineal 
metres by 200 metres measured at right angles, according to 
inclination of vein. In 1892 there were 40,000 ounces of gold 
exported from Honduras, most of which came from ()lancho 
and Yoro. This is probably only a small part of what was 
reall\- carried out. as innumeralile cases would undoubtedly 
occur that were never reported. In 1888 the mines of Hon- 
duras produced $2,000,000. In 1826 the director of the mint of 
Guatemala reported that 2,000 veins carrying gold and silver 
had been discovered in Honduras, which the (jovernment Geolo- 
gist thinks is an under estimate. '■' '^ * 

The section east of Zapilote opposite San Felipe is highly 
mineral. Xearlv all the tributaries of the Guayape and jalan, 
east of \'ijao, Rucio and Retiro carry gold and the mountains 
and hills in vicinit\-. In I'ssilili ^Fountains, west of San 
Felipe, are enormous (lc])osits of conoUinierate carrying gold. 

100 



"riie Jalan River runs tliroui^h it. There is a valuable mineral 
region south of the Cockerton Concession and Olancho Syn- 
dicate and west of Hodding's large quartz outcrops. 

All the tributaries of the Jalan carry coarse gold and natives 
conic from long distances to wash for gold in them and thj 
Jalan itself, where large nuggets have been found. From 
Canalcs to Le Frio they find from 20 to 100 coarse colors to 
a pan. Xearly all tributaries of the Guayape. between posts 
36 and 51 of the ( )lancho Fx])loring Company, now controlled 
by Major E. A. Uurkc, carry gold. 

A scientific commission appointed l^y the French Govern- 
ment recently re])orted officially to M. Honotaux. minister of 
foreign affairs, that "tliorc was in their opinion gold enough 
in these ])ro]xM-tics to i)ay the national debt of France." 

Roberts, I"'. A I., reported 50 to 60c. gold per cubic yard on the 
Guayape. Hicks and Monalian, miners. 1886, say women are 
making from qoc. to $1.00 and $2.00 per cubic yard. One place 
$10.00 i)er }ard. Henry W'oolcock, E. M.. reports 10 to 700 colors 
to the ])an, and lied rock gravel $15.00 per ton. On the Quebrada 
Grande and Agua Maria, aflluents of the Guayape. Mr. H. C. 
l>arnhart and Mr. ( Ico. Stanley Rees. C. E.. and architect, 
obtained $8 per cubic ^ard. 

"At Afurcielago liank a woman washed in m\- ])resence 6 pans 
and obtained about $1.00 \-alue of gold dust. 

"Some ])anks 1 have personally tested and th'j gravel 
streak is from 2 to 4 feet thick under 20 feet of surface earth, 
whicli also has occasionall}- a gravel streak or two. The 
lower gravel runs from 80c. to $1.00 per cubic yard and the 
top earth from toc. to 20c. per cubic vard." — E. P. Maves, 
C. E. ^= * * 

"On the Quebrada dran-lc (tributary of the Guayape) I saw 
4 women obtain in llirco hours 16 dwt. of gold." — Byrne. 

"Xear Retiro I estimate the gravel in the river to be worth 75c. 
per cubic yard, which I am satisfied is an under estimate. The 
women wash 25 to 50c. in pans in 3 to 4 hours. A woman's day's 
work is 15 to 20 'bateas,' or pans of dirt, and invariably they go 
home with 25c. to $T.oo worth of gold. It takes 104 'bateas' to 
one cubic yard. Bed rock of that river has never been seen by 
anybody. There is no doubt in my mind that when we reach it 
we will get as high and higher than $^0.00 per pan." — Douglas 
L. \\ Browne, M. E. ^ ^ 

Table of assay of ore per ton of 3,000 lbs. from quartz veins 
on the Jalan River, by A. T. Byrne, C. E. ^l. E. 

101 



Locality. Gold. Silver. 

Garcia $50.32 Trace. 

Espana i i37-i9 $343 

Espana 2 2,749.85 9.00 

Espana 3 801.12 .... 

Grande i { -r ^ .• , 12,800.00 320.00 

Grande 2 j 1,894.00 i5-00 

Grande 3 92.91 23.00 

Retire Viejo 37i-6o 30.12 

Retiro Mejo 152.00 54-30 

Retiro Mejo 8342 3i-90 

Retiro Mejo 558.27 13-24 

Zelipatepec (Zolipatepec) .... 81.52 10.20 

INIinas de Oro 108.36 63.45 

Oro Memndo 241.03 I9-I3 

Oro Mennulo 66.78 2.19 



"Los Coralitos, a principal branch, is being- washed by women, 
who are taking- up 50c. to $1.00 per day." (Certificate of town 
authorities of Guaimaca). 

"I prospected bars in the Jalan and obtained 20 to 40 colors 
to a pan and even 300. Width, 100 yards to 500 in places. 

"At Las Tinajas, 10 miles above La Jagiia, a considerable fiat 
gave 10 colors to a pan. 

"At Sara, 17 miles, I obtained fair results, but river was too 
deep. At 20 miles are rich bars and banks, particularly at Cacao 
Colorado. I consider it an extensive and deep placer. 

"Pozo de Funes bar, 22 miles, gave me an average of 30 colors 
to a pan. At 24 miles, a considerable bar and small island, pros- 
pects 50 colors to a pan. The banks from here up are literally 
full of fine gold. The natives get coarse gold by diving under 
water. El Mejicano Ford, at about 37 miles, gave me an average 
of 10 to 20 moderate-sized colors to a pan. At the end of Cajon 
de Oro IMenudo, 29 niiles. a smnll ])ar on southeast side of river 
gave me 100 to 300 colors to a jian on the surface. 

''The river has a nmch greater fall than the ( iuayape River." — 
Edward I'. Ahiyes. C. K. 

There are large dei:;osits of auriferous gravel on the (lUayape 
River among which are the Miu-cielagtt bank, the l-lspanita gold 
placer about the falls of I'.sjnunesa and man\- other ricli liank and 
bar deposits. 

102 



(iOLD \EIXS. 

There are abuiulant (juartz outcrops in the adjacent mountains 
of 4,000 to 5,000 feet elevation. Prospects assay $30, $40 and 
$70 per ton. Ledges have been discovered near the Redondo on 
Rio Salto, and assays of outcrops prove a mineral region to exist 
on the south slopes of the mountains facing Jalan River. At 
INIonte Rosa, 3 leagues east of Juticalpa. there are 2 gold veins, 
strike X. W. and S. E. Dip 40° South, parallel and with a width 
of 12 by 20 feet respectively, and 400 feet apart. They are true 
fissure veins. Can be worked as open cuts by a series of benches. 
Walls slate, veins white sugar (|uartz and gold free milling. Gold 
is also found in the veins with black and red oxide of iron and 
grey sulphurets of iron and occasional galena. Many thousands 
of tons of ore in sight. .\ 5-stamp mill has been shipped. A 
creek supplies 200 miners' inches of water in dry season, and it is 
taken to the mill in a ditch V2 mile long. Head at the mill 80 
feet, which runs ^y^ feet. 

Pclton Wheel. — The jjrc^cnt \v( rking is i .000 feet from mill 
and 400 feet alxn'e it. 

Native gold in Honduras occurs in seams of conglomerate, 
which carries auriferous c|uartz. Where lime is found in the 
quartz veins th.ev are richest in gold. It is often found alloyed 
with platinum, silver and a little copper. 

PLATh:AU PLACERS. 

Strange to say tliere are also gold placers in Honduras on the 
tops of the highest plateaus which are scarcely overtopped by any 
mountain chains and these consist of auriferous gravel and sand. 
Equally strange to sa^■ most of the gold gravels are richer on the 
surface than near bed rock. The gold veins are richer near the 
surface and free milling. As they grow deeper the ])roportions 
of silver, copper and rich lead ore increase and much gold occurs 
in conilMnation with the suliVhurcts and oxides of the above metals. 

$200,000 HAS BEEX TAKEX OUT OF EL RLSIO BY 
HAXD WASHIXG. 

About Jnticalpa are the gold zones of El Retiro. El Rusio. El 
A'ijao, near the mouth of the river Jalan or Teupacenti. Gold 
occurs in the villages of Rusio and Lepagaura. Gold and silver 
in the hamlets of El Cororal. San Francisco and Jano. and in the 
latter is found also a vein of opals. 

The arroyas (small deep cut. but shallow brooks), Almen- 

103 



dares and La Pita in the town of Campamento, in your conces- 
sion, have gold. In the town of Solano, 36 miles west of Juti- 
calpa. the arroyas Panal and El Jute carry gold, as also the 
Ouebrada de Oro in the hamlet of Tolgua. 

CONFIDENTIAL. 

'T have just returned from a careful examination of the Guay- 
ape and vicinity. The Ouebrada Grande and the Ramonte (upper 
Ouebrada Grande) in Bell's concession carry gold. Bell has only 
worked about Yz a mile of the Ouebrada Grande in the middle 
and has taken out over $200,000 by hand washing and crude ap- 
pliances. The lower part of the Ouebrada Grande and the Guay- 
ape are splendidly located and situated for hydraulic washing and 
suction dredging, as you suggested, and are very rich. 

SPEARS' INTEGRITY UNQUESTIONED. 

"There are certainly over two million dollars in there that we 
can take out and we can handle it." — (Extract from report of 
H. A. Spears. ^Mining Engineer). 

In ^lanta, 25 miles northeast of Juticalpa, on the road to Trux- 
illo. there is a silver vein and another of copper. In Rosario 
there are 3 veins of copper and lode gold and in Concordia there 
are several veins of gold. All the river Guayape (upper Patuca) 
and the arroyas Orico, Montanuela, Calderon, Jiconte and A'al- 
lecito carry gold. At Margulili and Jagua there are gold placers. 
In fact, there are innumerable veins and placers in all the depart- 
ment. 

The hand washings are new so nearly exhausted that the Indian 
women can only make in a da}" on the average from $1.25 to 
$2.50, but the deeper parts of the river, and much of tlie adjoin- 
ing flats are untouched, although the Indian women now make 
their best gains by diving in the deep i:)ools and filling a calabash 
with sand from the bottom. In many places the banks contain 
rich gold deposits at and below the water level with an over- 
burden of earth from 8 to 15 feet thick, which is too much for 
profitable hand labor. 

SINTV MILLION CUHIC YARDS. 

iMajor V-. A. P.urke. who succeeded to the mines of the Olancho 
Exploration Co. (Ltd.) assured me that placer gravel of the 
Honduras Gold Placer Company on the Guayape jiroduced under 
his working Tx") to 75c. of gold jicr cubic yard at a cost of 15c. 

101 



He worked it several months until the dam was carried away. 

The Torros ])lacer hank is estimated to contain 60.000.000 cubic 
^ards of gravel, carrying- 40 cents worth of gold per cubic 




Gamk Kn.i.KD BKidKi; Bijkakkast — Paih a \'ai.i.i:v. 

In 1887, 1888. i88y and 1890 there were denounced in tlie De- 
partment of Colon 9 geld mines. 2 silver, 2 gold and silver, i of 
lead and zinc, and i each of nickel, iron and lead. In Department 
of Colon, there is a vein of gold and silver on the bank of the 
Rio Xeo"ro. near Truxillc. and also in Las Ouebradas and the Rio 



Balfate and there are auriferous quebradas (or brooks) east of 
Balfate. Two miles from Sonaguera, in the Aguan \'alley, there 
is an abandoned gold and silver mine. There is a mine of copper 
in a place called "JMarmel de Santa Fe" and on the same river a 
vein of stone coal. In 1889 were denounced a gold mine called 
"Rev de las Payas" and a gold and silver mine called "Provi- 
dencia." A mine of antimony has also been discovered in Colon. 

Coming nearer home, the left hand tributaries of the river Sico 
or Grande, coming from the ^Mountain Poyas Peak, called El Oro, 
Las Bellatas, Alao, Tayaco, Xaranjal and La Pita are all notable 
for their gold-bearing sands. 

Not many vcars ago in a rivulet near the village of El Dorado 
on the Agalta branch of the Rio Xegro a gold washer obtained 
13 pounds of gold in six days. 

TRAXSPORTATIOX XEEDED. 

Mr. Gausines, a mineralogist, who has well examined the mines 
of Honduras says: 'Tt is easier to find inines than men to w^ork 
them, and if the}' would work and improve the ways of communi- 
cation the mineral productions of the country would in a short 
time rival those of MexicO' and Peru." 

In Olancho at Santa Bar, there is white, black and veined 
marble. At San Felipe, on the river Los Canitos, there is gold, 
and on the upper Jalan, 5 miles from Danli. And there are gold 
placers on the X'icaragua boundary on the Wanks River. 

Cinnabar has been found on the Aguan River and also petro- 
leum and coal. Excellent deposits of zinc have been found on the 
islands of Roatan and Bonaca. 

PEARLS AXD COPPER. 

Copper is found in Olancho also, between the rivers Guayape- 
and Jalan, north of Chavela. which has been coined at the Hon- 
duras mint. It carries gold. 

N'aluable j^earls are found in nian\- of the fresh water streams 
of the State, and also in the ovsters of the r>av of b^mseca. and 
the lagoons of tlie north coast. 

XO DrTIi':S. 

-Ml mining ])lants, machiner\-. explosives, chemicals, etc.. used 
in mining arc admitted free of duties, and all minerals can be 
exported free. 

100 



WOODS AXD THE LUMBER BUSINESS. 

Tlic following- woods occur in Honduras and probably nearly 
all of them in the limits of your grant : 

FHjoIio. Grows 2 to 4 feet in diameter and 30 feet to first 
limbs ; color yellow, turns red or reddish brown ; heavy, strong 
and hard. Resembles live oak except in color. Very durable 
out of the ground and lasts for years. The seasoned wood never 
shrinks. The heart wood never splits. Much used for spokes 
and cartwheels. 

Jicaro. A fine cabinet wood. Makes good railroad ties, would 
make excellent ship timber and gun stocks. 

Melon (calabash tree), crcsccittia. About 6 inches diaiueter. 
Straight trunk and spreading branches ; very fine grained. Color 
yellow. Young wood much lighter. Good for turned work and 
canes. Closely resembles boxwood and the heart wmild i)rnbably 
do for wood engravers. \'ery heavy. 

Guachipiliii. Will cut logs 2 feet square. Cch ir. young wood, 
light brown or yellowish. ( )ld, dark, resembles black waliuit. Is 
not a tenacious wood, but makes fine wheels and woidd make good 
gunstocks. Lasts almost forever in the ground, and no worms 
eat it. A heavy and fine cabinet wood. Posts have lasted in the 
ground 200 years. 

Liqiiidaiubcr, Sfyrox Ofliciiialis (Sweet Gum). Grows 3 feet 
m diameter and 50 feet long. Color, light reddish gray. A close- 
grained light wood but soft. Resembles elm. but not so strong. 
Makes good boards, ^'ery large trees are apt to be hollow. Fur- 
nishes benzoin gimi and an oil which is a very good balsam for 
wounds. This is the swccf initiii of Florida and the Southern 
United States. Tt is there used for luaking small wooden saucers 
.for grocers, for putting up butter and lard, being cut and stamped 
out when green and flexible. 

Piiiabctc (white ]-)ineV GrOAvs 6 feet diametei and 50 feet long. 
Color, yellowish white, not as white, light or soft as white j^ine-of 
U^nited States. Has a slight reddish tinge. Somewhat resembles 
pumpkin pine, but is not so coarse. \'ery abundant on the moun- 
tains. 

FIXE. 

Ocotc or jocofc, Pimis Palustris. Long leaved yellow, hard. 
IMtchpine. Appears to be the Cuban variety. Has long leaves 
1)ut small cones. Will square 26" and 40 feet long. Equallv liard 
as Florida pine. Yields good turpentine. ]\Ieasured one tree 11 
feet. Ti inches in circumference. Trees have more top and will 

107 



not cut so long- as the Florida pine. Is heavy and strong. Grows 
on the savannas and rolling pine lands near the coast and on the 
rivers. Will run 6 to 7 saw log trees to the acre, in some places 
more scattering, plenty of suitable size for railroad ties. 

Captain Henderson, before quoted, speaking- of the pine of 
Honchiras, says: "In general it is considered for all classes of 
objects much superior to that they import from the United States." 

Spruce Pine, 18 to 24 inches in diam. I noticed large quan- 
tities of this pine similar to that that grows in Florida, United 
States, in the mountains, on the road between San Pedro Sula 
and Tegucigalpa. This pine is not counted of much value in 
Florida, but will make good boards for inside work. 

Gmnadillo. Grows .4 feet in diameter, 2 kinds, the GranadiUo 
de Montana, which grows in the mountains, and the other kind 
which grows in the lower lands. Both are hard, close-grained, 
strong, durable and heavy. The former is lighter in color and 
weight than the latter and lasts well in the ground, but is not so 
handsome a wood for cabinet purposes. The heart resembles live 
oak, but with a reddish tinge and with red streaks. The sap wood 
is white. This wood in Nicaragua has the heart almost black. 
The low land variety is a much more beautiful cabinet wood, 
heavier, darker, closer grained and more beautifully striped. It 
resembles mahogany very much. It is very strong and takes a 
beautiful polish. It is used for furniture, rulers, carpenters' try- 
squares, planes, handles, etc.. and could be used for any purpose 
for which mahogany is used. Would make beautiful gun stocks. 

CEDAR, SIXTY FEET IX CIRCU^^IFEREXCE. 

Cedro (Spanish Cedar), Cedrela Odorata, L. There are 3 
varieties, Cedro dc VaJle or Cedro Real (Royal Cedar), Cedro de 
Montana or Mountain Cedar and Cedro de Costa, or Coast Cedar. 
Of these the first-named is the best and grows sometimes 20 feet 
in cli'imeter, and yS to 80 feet high, as t am creditably informed 
by Mr. E. F. Ma\cs, a well-known and highly respected civil 
engineer of Honduras. The Ro\al cedar comes next to mahogany 
in the estimation of many and is a beautiful cabinet wood, easily 
worked. 

It is much more close grained and licavicr than any of the other 
varieties of Spanish cedar, with wav\- markings and hurls and 
will take a fair polish. 

Tlx^ eoniejeiis. or white an ts (^r an\- other insect will not eat any 
of the cedars. Thev are of reddish color (sap wood, white), with 
an agreeable odor, and make beautiful furniture and insect-j)roof 



chests, es])ecicill\- tlic Royal cedar. There is ahvays a special de- 
mand for Spanish cedar in the markets. Laro^ely used for making- 
cigar hoxes and canoes. 

A house of four rcoms was built by the Honduras Clold Syn- 
dicate on the jalan River from one large cedar tree. 

Robic or Eiiciiia (Oak), Oucrcns. (jrows 2 feet in diameter. 
Several species. That of the vicinity of Tegucigalpa resembles 
our white oak, and is strong, hard, fine-grained and dense, and the 
heart lasts well in the cold climates. Is a good cabinet wood. The 
bark of li. Curfidor, E. dc la Montana and E. dc 1 'allc are used 
for tanning. Tlie live oak grows very large. 

Ahncndro (Almond Tree). Called Ibo and Break .\x in Nica- 
ragua ; 4 to 5 feet diameter. Tall and straight. Will cut logs 
40 feet long and over. Hard, but not very close-grained; very 
heavy, a good cabinet wood, reddish, with ligliter streaks. .Some- 
what resembles black walnut. Does net take as good i)(ilish as 
mahogany, but resembles it a little. Makes good beams and posts 
durable out of ibc ground. Hears an edible alnmnd. 

ROSi:\\()()i). souARi-: 1'1\t: fki-:t. 

Coyote, Xiniharo, Pa/o dc Rosa (Ro.sewood). .linyris Hal- 
saniifcra. L. Logs will square 4 to 5 feet. A beautiful cabinet 
wood, with very fine, close, hard grain and takes a beautiful polish. 

\'ery desirable for tool handles, rules. T-sfpiares, planes, etc. 
Its uses and value are well known, and it is always in demand in 
foreign markets and is largely exported. Would make beautiful 
gun stocks. 

Mora, Palo Moral ( ^lullierrx). Morns Tincforia. L. I'our or 
5 feet in diameter. \'ery strong. Color, heart bright reddish, 
sap wood yellow. Young trees are lighter colored, sap wood 
almost white. The heart is a fine grained, hard, heavy wood, very 
similar to black walnut, but finer and takes a good polish. A beau- 
tiful cabinet wood, nearly as good as mahogany ; would make 
beautiful gun stocks. 

The leaves are used to feed silkworms. 

The yellow sap wood is a well-known dye-wood and is always 
in demand. Price to Liverpool July i, iScjq, £3 15s. to £4 5s. per 
ton. The berries resemble blackberries and are a staple fruit in 
the markets of Florida. L^nited States, where the tree grow-s wild 
in abundance. The wood of the Florida variety is not exported, 
to my knowledge, but is considered a valuable strong and desirable 
wood by boat builders. The Llonduras variety is said \o be very 

109 



lasting" in the ground. Air. Alayes. civil engineer, states that piles 
have been in the salt Avater at Amapala 26 years and the sea worms 
do not eat it. 

MaciicUso. Two feet diameter. Excellent timber. Worms do 
not eat it much. Aery light in weight. Color, light gray, with 
darker pencilings. When dressed has a satin}- lustre, soft ; slightly 
resembles ash. Coarse grained. 

Taiuboi'. Grows 2 feet in diameter. A soft, light wood. Color, 
light. Close grained. Wood somewhat resembles birch. Used 
for making packing cases. 

Laurel. The male tree grows 2 feet in diameter. Female 9". 
Strong, heavy wood, close grained and hard. Color, light, with 
slight yellowish tinge, and satiny gloss when dressed. Lasts well 
in the ground in cold climates. The heart makes good railroad 
ties and ship timbers and the sea worms will not eat it. (Mayes). 
A good cabinet wood. 

Espina Blanco. (Thorn). Acacia Arabiga. Small tree of the 
Acacia family. Xo use for lumber. Color light, heart reddish. 
Medium in weight. Wood resembles ash a little, when full 
grown. Has medicinal uses. The bark boiled in water makes 
as-a-foetida. A decoction of the root cures spider bites on mules, 
which are very troublesome here, there being a spider which 
bites mules and horses' fetlocks and renders them lame. Tree 
exudes a gum arable. Ashes makes strong potash. Xumerous 
on Pacific coast. 

LIGNLAI \TTAE. 

Guayacaii or Guayaco (Iron wood). Lignum J'lfac. Two 
varieties, black and green. Grows 2 feet in diameter. Dark- 
brown streaked ; extremely hard, extremely heavy, very close- 
grained and strong. Will polish, resembles ebony, but is not so 
dark. Used for making sheave blocks, tool handles, etc. Used 
for ties on Panama railroad ; would make a good cabinet wood ; 
cannot drive spike or nail mtc it when seasoned. H. P. Mayes, 
C. E., formerly midshipman in Royal Xavy, sa>s the wood grows 
in Egypt. A gum was obtained from it that was used bv the 
ancient EgA'ptians in preserving mummies. This gum, called in 
the j^harmacopias guaiacum. "is largclx- used as an abortifacient 
bv tlic negroes of EU^-ida." It is said ( H. V>. 1'ears) that the sea 
worms will not eat this wood. 1^. 1'. .Mayes. C. E., confirms it. 
Specimen Xo. t in the collection was cut from a piazza post of 
the house of Don Constatino Eiallos, civil engineer of Tegucigalpa, 
which had been placed there 250 years ago. 

110 




Si\(a.K T\Aii, Banana •• T 



111 



OiiicbraliacJia. (Breakax). Sydcro.vyhnii. One foot in- diam- 
eter, strong, durable, very hard, verv close-grained and very 
heavy. Color dark brown, slightly streaked with darker. A fine 
cabinet wood. Resembles black walnut, but is closer grained and 
darker. Is very durable, but splits easily in the sun. Air. Lakie, 
formerly chief engineer of the Honduras Railroad, informs me 
that part of the railroad wharf at Puerto Cortez is built on piles 
of this wood and that the sea worms do not eat them at all. Air. 
B. B. Pears, formerly superintendent of the same railroad, con- 
firms this. He says the worms ate up Santa Alaria and also the 
composite piles used there which were made in the following- 
way: A 6" X 6" scantling of the proper length was thoroughly 
tarred with pitch ; to this was nailed i" boards of same size, thor- 
oughly tarred. To this were nailed other tarred boards, always 
breaking joints. This arrangement proved utterly worthless. 

There are a great many Avoods in different countries called 
"breakax" from their hardness, which are of entirely different 
species. 

In Florida, United States, it is the live oak. especially the dead, 
dry seasoned wood, which is so hard that it will break an axe 
almost like iron. 

In Nicaragua it is the Ibo or Almendro. In Columbia it is the 
Eboni or Ebonv. In Argentina it is the Rey del Palo. All of 
these dift'er from each other, and the cnly wa}" to properly classify 
these woods is bv flower and leaves, the true botanical method. 

PLEXTIFCL. 

Roiiroji. Xamed from a boring bee, called the "Carpenter bee." 
Grows 2 feet in diameter. Color of Jamaica rum, or burnt 
sienna, clouded and streaked with light and dark shades, black 
and reddish. A very ]K\iutiful cabinet wood excelling mahogany. 
Makes beautiful veneers. Strong, durable, extremely close- 
grained and hard, and takes a ]')o!ish not excelled even by ma- 
hogany. Straight and 40 feet to the branches. Makes the hand- 
somest furniture, tool handles. T-s([uares and native pianos and 
instruments. L^nfortunately a large bumble bee, with white spot 
on its head, bnres holes in it ^-inch in diameter. A]-)pears to be 
the same insect that bores the red i)encil cedar of I'lnrida. Rcmron 
trees in .Vicaragna are not attacked in this waw 1 las I)een e.x- 
])(irle(l by .Messrs. I'ears i^rothers of .'^an redro Sula. Honduras. 

Mai^iicy. ( I'lolsa wood), called Pololc by the Mcs(|uito Indians. 
Grows about 18 inches in diameter. An exceedingly light wood, 
all i)itli. I -ight coliireil. Straight. \ery soft. Csed for rafts 

il2 



and floats, bouys. etc. Can be ])ut t<j many uses. ( )uter skin is 
thin and hard. Sections of small branches are used as pin cush- 
ions and the barbers cut off the outer shell and use the interior 
for razor straps. 

Quassia. (Cruzita). (irows about i foot in diameter. Color, 
li^ht uniform yellow, younp; trees, older trees brown. Strou";, 
fine-grained, light weight. Resembles elm wood a little or per- 
haps like beech. The old trees are hard. A medicinal tree. It is 
customary to turn cups of this wood. These being tilled with 
water and allowed to stand half an hour, the water will be found 
to be strongly impregnated with the excessively bitter principle 
of the wood. It is drank as a tonic and cure for fever and is said 
to be efficacious. 

Uiua. A large tree. 30 feet high. 2)/j feet in diameter. Color, 
reddish brown, ])rettily mottled with darker blotches on a jiearly 
ground. Straight and splits very good. Durability more than 50 
years. Strong, very close-grained, hard, dense and heavy. Takes 
a fair pearly polish. An excellent cabinet wood. Much used for 
making chairs in Honduras. Resembles no other wood that I 
have ever seen. Would make handsome gun stocks. 

LTKR MAPLE. 

Uz'ia de Montana. A large tree, 25 feet high and 3 feet in 
diameter. The wood entirely different in appearance from the 
preceding. Exactly resembles white maple. S])lits easy and 
checks badly. Color, white. \'ery desirable like cedar and lasts 50 
years. Durable in the ground. Straight, solid, fine-grained, 
heavy, hard and strong. I'sed for roofs, beams and furniture in 
Honduras. 

LIKE THCKORY. 

Doradillo. (Gilded Wood). Size, T:^y2 feet in diameter. Length 
unknown. Yery strong, fine-grained, solid, very hard, and will 
take fair polish. Color, uniform light cafc-an-lait. S plits ea sv. 
Durability 25 years. Quite durable in the ground. A good cabi- 
net wood. Straight, used for roof beams and tools. Resembles 
fine hickory, would make excellent g un stoc ks. 

Guacuco. A large tree. 20 to 25 feet high and 23^ to 3 feet 
in diameter. Color, nearly uniform light gray, heart much 
darker. Straight, very strong, verv close-grained and solid and 
smooth. Medium weight. Splits well, is extremely hard and 
takes a good polish with a dark pearly lustre. A fine cabinet 
wood. Is ver}- durable, lasting 50 to 60 years, and lasts well in 

113 



the ground. Is used for furniture and shoe soles. \\'ould make 
good tools and instruments, rulers, etc. Resembles live oak in 
texture, but is much finer. 

HARD WOODS. 

Diciifa Bella. (Tjeautiful tooth). A large tree, 2^4 feet in 
diameter. Color, bright yellow, streaked with brown, strong, 
straight, splits easy. Is hard, heavy, very close-grained, and takes 
a very pretty polish. Durability over 30 years. A ver\- pretty 
cabinet wood. Used for furniture, beams, and for inlaid work. 
W^ould make beautiful veneers, ^^'ould make good tools and fine 
instruments. Resembles very closely the Florida mulberry. 

Tcrcsica. A large tree, 35 feet high and 2.5 feet in diameter. 
Color, heart, cherry red, prettily mottled with darker, giving a 
general light reddish effect, with dark cloudings. Very strong, 
heavy, very fine-grained and solid, takes a beautiful polish. Sap 
wood nearly white. Lasts for more than 50 years, like iron in the 
ground or exposed to weather. Tough, with interlaced fibers, and 
splits hard. A handsome cabinet wood. Used for construction 
of houses and furniture. Would make beautiful veneers, gun 
stocks, tools, instruments, etc. Resembles cherry wood. 

Toulon. Size imknown. Color, uniform grey. Strong, fine- 
grained, hard and takes a fair pretty polish. ^Tedium weight. 
Appears to split easy. Durability unknown. Used for roof beams. 
Would make good tools. Resembles white ash, but is harder. I 
think, and closer grained. 

Maiculile. Size unknown. Color, heart, yellow, sap wood dull 
white. Strong, heavy, fine-grained, hard. Harder than Diente 
Bello. Takes a good satiny polish. A good cabinet wood. Re- 
sembles Diente Bello or Florida ^^lulberry. Used for making fur- 
niture. 

Saufa Maria. A large, tall, straight and valuable tree. 2 and 3 
feet in diameter. Grows in low lands and much resembles ma- 
hogany. 

"THE MOX.VRCII." 

(}rahoo;aiiy.) Spanish Caoba. Szircfiiiia Mahoo^oiii. Height, 
70 to 80 feet, forty to fifty feet to first branches. Diameter up to 
15 feet. A well-known wood, the character and uses of which 
are well known. A magnificent tree, the ^Monarch tree of Central 
America. 

In August the leaves turn yellow and can be seen at a great 
distance. In the countries to which it is exported, it is (^nly 

114 



thought of as a cabinet wood, but it is in man\- respects better 
than oak. It sin-inks less. \var])s and twists less, is more buoyant, 
weighs less and holds glue better. The average weight of TTon- 
duras variety is 35 lbs. ])er cubic foot, while white oak weighs 48. 
It is slow to take fire, is free from dry rot and the effects of acids 
and (l(;es not suffer from changes of temperature. Metals do not 
corrode it. which is a valuable projierty. It is largely used for 
house building and all construction purposes and boat and ship 
building in Central America. 

There are two varieties : common or low-land mahogany and 
the mountain mahogany. The low-land variety is the best, the 
mountain maliogany being lighter and net so close-grained, shad- 
ing oft into Spanish cedar, which it closely resembles. 

Mahogany trees have large triangular buttresses at their bases 
which render it necessary to cut them 10 or 12 feet from the 
ground, for which i)urpose stagings are erected for the axmen. 
After felling the tree, the trunk is cut off at the first limbs. The 
immense stuni]) and roots and the top of the tree are the best, 
as they contain numerous whirls, eyes, veins, burls and cloudings, 
which are very beautiful, when cut and polished, but u]) to this 
time all this most valuai)le part of the tree is wasted and left to rot 
in the woods, owing to the difticulty of getting out the stump and 
cutting it up, and in the case of the short top logs, the vessels 
will not take them, or rather thc\' charge a prohibitory freight, 
unless they can have a complete cargo of this small stuff. On 
the other hand, tlie cho])pers never cut trees over 5 or 6 feet in 
diameter, as they cannot liandle them. It is very diflicult to cut a 
tree with an ordinary ax that is more than 6 feet in diameter. 
When felled, the slabs taken off with an ax to square such large 
trees are so thick that the work is very slow and laborious and 
entails great kiss of good lumber. Then to haul logs of a size 
so large, requires larger trucks and more oxen and tackle for 
loading them, and so the}- plan their outfit or plant for no trees 
larger than 6 feet, and here again the finest and best hunber is 
left in the woods untouched, although in Oregon we find no dififi- 
culty in moving and saving much larger trees. These immense 
trees and stumps should be gotten out wdiole and taken to a saw- 
mill near by and there cut up. because the immense slabs, required 
to be cut from a log 15 feet in diameter, in order to square it, are 
234 feet thick each, by 10 feet 6 inches wide, and often of the 
best and most showy lumber, containing knots and burls, and 
when this is cut oft' with an ax in the woods, it is all lost, but if 
cut off with a saw, it can all be rccut and saved. 

115 



^lAHOGAXY. 

A log 15 feet in diameter will square 10 feet 6 inches, and in 
order to cut boards of this width the very largest gang saws made 
are required. 

It has been customary to cut some of these trees and split them 
with wedges and blow them open with gunpowder, but much of 
the wood is ruined in this way and when the size is reduced to 
the ordinary size, no better price is obtained than for smaller trees, 
which are not so troublesome to handle. It is probable that the 
ver\- largest stimips would have to be cut ^vith hand-swing saws, 
as thev are of an awkward shape to handle. Splitting with 
wedges should be avoided, wherever possible, as being cross- 
grained and twisted they split up so crooked as to ruin a large 
per cent, of the lumber. The very largest stumps are often 
hollow. 

GROWTH OF AIAHOGAXY. 

The popular belief in northern countries is that the mahogany 
is a very slow growing tree and requires from one to three cen- 
turies to arrive at maturity. This statement has been made by 
early writers and copied into all books treating of forestry of 
Central America, but it is a great mistake, which arose probably 
from tlie fact that in Honduras the mahogany, and in fact most 
all trees, have three periods of growth in a year, and consequently 
make 3 rings. ^Ir. E. P. ]\Iayes, a Government engineer. Avho 
came out here from England on the first surveys of the Inter- 
oceanic railroad and has been here 39 years, assures me that a 
mahogany tree grows about i inch in diameter per year. He 
says he has seen trees grow large enough to be cut for lumber 
in 20 years on a "cortes," or "cutting," where they had all been 
cut off. 

Captain Robert Cleaves, Sr., also a Government engineer, who 
came originally from Saco, ^le., and has been in this country 
and Guateniala over 25 years, says that from his personal obser- 
vation mahogany trees 6 inches thick, have grown in 20 years to 
be 15 and 16 inches in diameter, which would give a rate of J 2 an 
inch per year. 

This increases the value of all mahogany bearing lands at least 
four limes as nnich as they would be, if as has been supjxised, 
100 to 300 years was required for a tree to attain sufificient size 
to be marketable. 

Mahogany can be cut at any .season of the year, but ll^e 
regular .season cdmmcnccs with August and lasts till .\nrii. 

116 



because that includes the rainy season and the rivers and 
creeks are full so the logs can be launched and floated Tlie 
loggers say also that if cut at other times it will not split, and 
they believe that wood will not be durable unless cut -rm a 
waning moon. 

The remarks in regard to size of logs and special arrange- 
ments for cutting them, and, to tops and stumps apply to all 
the other choice cabinet woods, especially cedar, black-walnut, 



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Yeli.oav Pine ox Pati'( a River. 

Ron-ron. rosewocd. etc.. the first of which sometimes grows 
to 1)0 20 feet in diameter. 

Mr. Alayes informs me that he was called in consultation 
as a civil engineer to devise means of cutting and removing 
two cedar trees on a mountain near Comayagua. that meas- 
ured 20 feet diameter each, one being a few inches le.^.^. 

It is- well known -that black-walnut stumps are extracted in 
the States and worked up into furniture. 



117 



A^ogal. (Black Walnut.) A'erv large and quite numerous. 
A well konwn cabinet wood. 

Bastard MaJwi^any. A good large tree that resembles Ma- 
hogany a little. Fairly numerous. The Redwood of Florida. 

Cortcz (jManwood), (Horse flesh) Lignum vitac. 30" diam. 
A very large tree. \'arieties: Cortez amarillo and Cortez 
negro. This wood is yellow and black, in different kinds. 
The yellow \'ariety sometimes shades into green. I think it 
is improperly called Lignum vitae, which is the Guayacan 
already described. Cortez is a hard, fine grained heavy and 
exceedingly strong tough wood, that splits hard and is valu- 
a1)le for ship timber. In the Bahama Islands it is called horse- 
flesh. There are several sub-varieties. Resembles the live oak. 

Jagua. Is a light hardwood. 

Kerosene Tree. A tree of large size, containing a great deal 
of odoriferous balsamic gum, very inflammable. Makes an 
excellent fire wood for camping parties. 

Sapodillo or ZapotiUo. AcJiras Sapota. A very large, tall, 
straight, tree, 5 feet in diameter. Color, brownish yellow. A 
very desirable, hard, heavy, close grained, strong and tough 
wood, which is extremely durable and is said to be immune 
from the attacks of the sea worms. If is prized for axhandles. 
house and shipbuilding, and all kinds of construction. Stephens 
(Travels in Central America and Yucatan) relates finding a 
^ door lintel of this wood in good state of preservation, set in the 
masonry of a building in the ruined city of Palenque, where it 
must have been since the time of the Spanish conquest, more 
than 370 years. This wood is very numerous in the Bay islands 
and the valley of the upper river. Tree bears an edible fruit, 
which is exported to the United States. Resembles white oak in 
character, but is darker in color. 

Sauee (Willow). Is small and very numerous on the Patuca 
and Negro Rivers. Well suited for mattress work. Nearest to 
Patuca village arc 7^4 miles. 

Maho. A small, soft wood tree, very light and numerous in 
the river bottoms. Would make good rafts and buoys, but is not 
nearly as light as the Balsa or ATaguey, but has much more con- 
sistenc\-, being a tolerably good wood. Wood resembles the cork 
tree of Florida, T'nited States. 

'J'l'Kinpel Tree (or Tuli]) tree). Crows about one toot in 
diameter and 25 or 30 feet high, willi a hollow stem. Of no use 
exce]')t for water gutters or iiii)es. \'ory numerous in the low 
river bottoms. Hears a l)t\-nitiful yellow Inii]) flower. 

118 



Schttchc (Mosquito Indian name). A tree about 25 or 30 
feet high and 3 feet in diameter. Wood very soft and of little 
value, (irows in low river bottoms. ]\Iight make packing boxes 
or fruit crates. 

Cciba (or Cotton \\'u<jd). Bomba.v Ceiba L. One of the 
grandest forests trees of rapid growth, 70 feet long and 14 feet in 
diameter. \\'oc(l is soft, light in weight and color, straight, and 
is used for making good boards, canoes and barrels. Is lighter 
than pine, but not quite so durable. Can be worked very easily. 
It flowers 3 times a year and jiresents a very beautiful ai)pear- 
ance. It produces a large ])od filled with a downy substance like 
floss silk, but the shortness of the fiber renders it unavailable for 
textile purposes, but it is frequently used for stuffing cushions, 
pillows, etc. Numerous on ri\cr l)anks. 

Jocofas, or Jocotc (Hog plum) or cinicla silz'cstrc. Grows 
20 to 25 feet liigh. 1J/2 feet in diameter. Wood soft and of no 
value. I'ruit a \cllow oblong plum, about the size of a small 
pullet's egg, with large seed, sub-acid, but good, and is sold 
always in the market of Tegucigal]ia. Xumerous on banks of 
Patuca River. 

Taiiiariudo (Wild Tamarind Tree). Tamarindns Occidentalis. 
A ver\ large tree in Xicarpgua, in the San Juan valley, but here 
1 (lid not see any on the Patuca River as far up as I went, more 
than g or 10 inches in diameter. In the other parts of the country 
it grows as large as I saw it in Xicaragua, 80 or 90 feet high 
and 2 to 2j/ feet in diameter. Color dark. Wood heavy, strong 
and hard. Is used for making furniture and for posts and 
beams of houses. May be said to resemble Quiebrahacha or 
Break-ax. There are two varities, one of whicli bears a long 
pod, which is dried and exported and used as a decoction in 
water, which mak,es a delicious cooling drink. The other has a 
small ])od, very sour. 

Majii^lc (Alangrove). Ryzopliora Maiii^Ic. Large spreading 
trees of three varieties, all about the same size, 40 to 50 feet 
high and 24 inches diameter. Grows crooked and much branched, 
and is difficult to obtain long logs. Good for ship knees. Wood 
three diflrcrent varieties, red, yellow and white. It is said sea 
worms will not eat it ; very hard, close grained, intertwined 
fibers ; hard to split. Tough. When old and seasoned will turn 
the edge of an ax. Grows in the salt water, and is numerous 
on Brewer's Lagoon. Also the Mau'^lc de Sarago::a. 

Sea or Beach Gra/^e (Mangle-grape). Cocolaba Uvifera. 
Small, about 20 feet high, 8 inches diam. Much branched. 

119 



Wood hard, handsome and heavy. Bears a very good plum, 
about size of a grape. Grows on Sea beach. \'ery common on 
Florida beaches. 

Ficos. (Latin.) Matopalo (Wild fig.) A large spreading 
tree, about t,=) or 40 feet high, 3 or 4 feet diameter. Wood soft. 
Trees numerous on river banks. Bears a fig which is edible 
and of which deer and hogs are very fond. 

Called Matapalo, or tree killer, because when it commences 
to grow, it attaches itself to some other tree and grows around it 
and over it, encircling it in its deadly embrace, until at last the 
tree is choked to death and the matapolo remains feeding on its 
dead body. 

It has a juice, white and sticky, like rubber, which runs out 
where the trunk is cut. 

It resembles the Indian Fig or Rubber tree of South Florida, 
in everything, except that the fruit of the Florida tree is no larger 
than cherry and is dark purple or black. 

Pocote. (Provision Tree, so called by Mosquito Indians.) 
20 feet high, about i foot diameter. Wood soft and sappy. Used 
for fences and hedges. Stakes of this wood driven in the ground 
take root and grow. Bears a large brown edible fruit larger than 
a cocoanut. Think it belongs to the Anona family, but the fruit 
resembles a sapote. 

Labcna (or Naked Wood), Tall and straight, 50 or 75 feet 
high, 40 to 50 feet to first limbs. Diameter. 2 feet. Hard and 
very heavy. jNIakes good lumber. Resembles the Palo de Plomo 
or Lead wood, and I think it is the same. Grows along the rivers. 
Appears as if without bark, at first sight. Grows in Florida. 

Buffoivzcood. Small, 20 feet high, 10 inches diam. Hard and 
good and. luuch esteemed for fire wood. Cirows on shores of 
Brewer's Lagoon. Also good in Florida, \J. S. 

Crabo. (Crab Tree.) Low and spreading, small, about 8 
inch.es in diameter. There are two kinds. Makes good firewood 
and good small boat timbers. Resembles the black oak. Grows 
in Florida. 

C(n'o Phiiii. Hush about 15 feet high. Bears a very good sweet 
A\-hite and ])uri)lc jilrm in great al)undance. about size of a small 
peach, (irows on the sea bciches. from Flrrida to Nicaragua. 
Called by Columlnis "Coxinas."" 

Pi_i:;c(Ui fliiiii. Small and spreading 20 feet high and 4 or 5 
inches diameter. Woc^tl liard. like clierry. and an excellent fire- 
wood. B.erirs a small but gcod ])luni in al)un(lance. ( Irows pro- 
fusely in vicinity of Patuca. 

Ycmori. .\ large, tall and stiaiglu tree, 4 feel diameter. \\'ood 

120 



liqht colored, soft and coarse grained and resembles white pine, 
Init is coarser. L'sed for making dvig-out canoes. Can be used 
for ncarl\- anything white pine is used for. 

Tuberose. Tall and straight tree 30 feet long to branches and 
9 feet diameter. Wood hard, grain coarse, fibers twisted like 
corase black oak, with interspaces of softer wood. Hard to split. 
Used for making dug-out canoes. (]rows in middle section of 
Patuca river. 

Flores de if:til. (Ulue Flower.) Large tree of e.xcellent wood, 
soft to work and strong. Much liked by mechanics. 

Guanacaste. Raiiiints Sarcoinphalus. L. A noble tree of im- 
mense, size and witli an enormous spread of branches, 60 to 75 
feet high, and has been known to attain a diameter of 15 feet. 
Imuc durable hnnbrr. Produces large quantities of gum which 
might be made available as an article of commerce. 

Jenisero. (Acacia Family.) A great tree. Excellent wood 
unknown to commerce as yet. between Mahogany and Cedar. 

SUjiilea. 18 inches diameter, 75 feet high, straight; bark pitted 
like a pineapple, l)ut not so close together. Wood very hard and 
fine grained, banded and mottled ciiocolate and yellow. Makes 
fine \)'\\)QS and cabinet work. 

Madrafio. A \-er\ fine grained wood, suitable tor turning. 
Would also Ik' suitable for wood engraving in place of box-wood. 

Xisficro. \ ery large tree, tall and straight, /=^ or 80 feet high, 
7 or 8 feet diameter. Color of wood redish, hard, heavy and 
under water becomes as hard as iron, and lasts almost forever. A 
very strong valuable wood for all kinds of construction and a 
handsome cabinet wiuil that rivals mahogany in beauty. Bears 
one of the best of the tropical fruits, like a sapote. 

\F,KV \ALl\Vr.LE. 

Madera negra. Madre de eaeao. ( Black wood, mother of 
cacao.) Tall and small trunk, about 40 feet high and 8 or 9 
inches in diameter. Is very hard, heavy, black color, strong, not 
very straight, but lasts almost forever in the ground, hence is 
much used for posts, ground sills, and for ties on the Nicaragua 
Railroad. Resembles ebony. Is planted by the natives to shade 
the young cacao ( chocolate) and coffee trees. A stick stuck in 
tlie ground will take root and grow. 

Gua-pinol. A large tree, 3 to 4 feet diameter. \\'ocd very 
beautiful and is useful for construction or cabinet purposes. Is 

121 



said to resemble (iuachipilin. Produces a fruit from whicli an 
edible substance is made and a gum equal in every respect to 
copal. Also the G iiapi)bolillo. 

Guiligtiistc. Palo dc Carbon (or Coal tree), Chiqiiiriii. All 
these produce woods excellent for underground use and especially 
valuable for R. R. ties. 

Baiiibii. ( liamboo). This gigantic member of the family of the 
grasses grows in tropical profusion all along the river banks of the 
North Coast, attaining a height of 60 to 70 feet and diameter of 
8 inches. A most graceful and beautiful plant. Bamboo thickets 
are almost impenetrable as the lower branches are thorny, while 
the upper are not. 

The trunks are used for building houses, rafters, rafts (owing 
to their buoyancy ) and for fence pickets, being split for that pur- 
pose. The joints are about 16 to 18 inches apart and the trunk 
perfectlv hollow between joints. The Indians cut off a joint, leav- 
ing a piece projecting on one side for a handle. A hole is then 
bored in the top and a perfect water tight-keg results, holding 
about 1 5^ to 2 gallons. Smaller ones are made for bottles and vials 
and used for a variety of purposes. They are remarkably light, 
when dry and seasoned. The top joint being cut out makes a per- 
fect pail or bucket, that needs no hoops and cannot fall apart when 
drv. I believe a paying industry could be established in the man- 
ufacture of these articles for sale in the States, as the cost of man- 
ufacture would be next to nothing and the articles very unique and 
useful and cfuild be made more ornamental by turning in a lathe 
and painting. It is ]:)roposcd to use these bamboo in the harbor 
work, as alread\- explained. 

niicalyptiis. ( P)lue Gum.) Cirows 40 feet high and 1 1-4 feet dia- 
meter ; supposed in Florida, where it grows in plenty, to render the 
air free form Malaria in its vicinity. It is used in Houduras and 
Salvador to render im])urc water healthw For this purpose the 
leaves are boiled in water and a little of this decoction, which is 
bitter, is added to the drinking water. 



DYlA\'OC»DS. 

Brarj-ii Wood called Palo Lima in the trade. CacsaJpina licli'm- 
ata-L. Large tree, 2 to 2!/' feet diam. I lean wood red, sa])-wood 
yellow. l*rices in Liverjiool July ;. i8()<). £3 15s. to £<) 5s. per ton. 
Lar>.;c'ly e.\i)orted from Ama])ala ,-md r>eHze. 

Palo dc Caiupcchc. (Logwood.) A \arioi\ of Prazil wood. 

1 '22 



Grows on both coasts. Trees crooked, about i foot diameter. 
Color, of heart wood, ahnost black. Sap-wood yellowish white. 
A well-known dye-wood. 

Fustic, or Pah) .hiwrillo. Morns Tinctoria, L. Called in the 
trade I'alo moral. I'rice July ist, '99, in Liverpool, £3 15s. to £4 
5s. per ton. 

Mora or Moron. A very lar^e tree 4 to 5 feet in diameter. 
Larjj^el}' exported from the Pacific coast to Havre, France. Color, 
a light mahogany shade. 

Saiidalo ainarillo. { Yellow sandal wood). Saiitahuu. 

Saii^rc de drai:;oii. (Dragon's lUcod). Ptcrocarpiis Draco L. 
.Xancc. Larg;e tree, wood used for tanning hides, bears a small 
edible cherry. Wood soft and of no use for construction. 
Illcquciiic. Also used for tanning. 

.Ichlote, Tile. (Annatto.) Bi.va OrcUaua. .\ large spreading; 
tree 2 feet diameter. Hears a pod resembling" a chestnut, which 
is used for cdnring l)Ulter and larg'ely ex])()rted. 

( )riii':k W( )()i)S. 

Ziunaquc. (Sumach tree). Rhus Coriaria, L. Is well known 
as a tree used for tunning. 

Ah^arroba. (Carol) tree, or St. John's bread), flyiucnaca 
Courbaril, or Ccratonia Siliiiua. L. 

Arroyan. (Myrlle. ) M yrtiis Boctcca. h. 

Mono i\c Leon. (Lion's Paw). 

Oja I^-iiduhi. ( llanging leaves). 

Nacascoflc. 

Pah) jiofc. 

Coiii!;. A very durable wood. 

Pride of India. Grows 50 feet high and 2 feet diameter, with 
a spread of branches over too feet, furnishing" a mass of foliage 
perfectly impervious to sun or rain. 

MEDICINAL TREES. (il'MS AXD PLANTS. 

Goina Arabiga and Liquid amber have been already men- 
tioned. 

Copaiba. Copaifcra OfhcinaJis, L. Furnishes a valuable bal- 
sam, used in venereal diseases. 

Turpentine. 

CopaL HediAgia boL^aniinifera. Furnishes the well known 
copal varnish. 

Copal de Ceyh^n. Hyi>ienaea Vermicoso. 

123 



Copalillo. Hymenaea Courbaril. 

Pahiia Chi'isti. Ricinus Coiiiiminis. A soft tree-like plant that 
produces a nut from which castor oil is made. 

Giiapiuol. Also the GuapinoUUo. 

Guaiacinii, . 

Hulc, or caoutchouc. (India rubber). "Castilloa clastica." 
Grows 40 feet high and 2 feet diameter. Very large leaves. 
Trunk straight and smooth. Wood soft and of no value. A new 
process has been discovered of making rubber from the leaves, 
which will yield 5 or 6 crops per year. 

RUBBER. 

Grows wild all through the Patuca valley and north coast. A 
large tree will produce 20 gallons of sap and will run dry in a 
single day. The sap is strained through sieves, i gallon of sap 
will produce 2 lbs. of gum. In Brazil the sap is boiled, but in 
Central America the sap of a vine called Achuna is mixed with 
the rubber sap and coagulates it. It is then washed and is ready 
for market. Trees are set out about 15 feet apart in the woods, 
only a few bushes being chopped down around them and left to 
grow in the shade. In 10 years they will be ready to tap and each 
tree will yield from $3.00 to $6.00 per year. 

Honduras rubber now sells at 65c. per pound in Honduras 
ports, and would bring twice as much if properly prepared, but 
as the Indians bring it in, it is very dirty, and full of sand, sticks, 
leaves and water. 

The Government pays a bonus of 10 cents for each rubber tree, 
provided not less than 2,000 are planted. Act of October 6, 1893. 

Guta Perca (Tuno, Gutta Percha), a tree about 30 feet high 
and i^ to 2 feet diameter. Large leaves, straight trunk, and 
resembles the rubber tree. The Po}a Indians make a kind of 
cloth from the bark, stripping it oft' in large sheets as possible, 
macerating it in water and pounding for a long time on a block 
of wood. They use it principally for bedding. Grows in the 
Patuca valley abundantly, (ium is exported, but does not com- 
mand as high a price as rubber. Juice very caustic. Burns 
the fiesli and dangerous to the eyes when cutting. Indians 
cover the face with India rubber gum when cutting. 

There are also the following: El Balsaino or Balsam de 
Peru, which is abundant in the mountains of Siguatepeque. 
Albert Augsi)urg, formerly ( Icrnian consul in San Salvador, 
had fntu'-fifths (if tlic whole outimt in .Sahaddr. and made $TOO.- 
000 \)vy \-car in sih'cr. The iirinciiial niarl^el is Ilamliurg. Xine 

1-24 



to lo lbs. in a g-allon cost $i.oo silver per g^alloii. crude, and 
refined, sells for $2.00 per lb. HI Jiiiiciiitc, the Copal of Ceylon, 
Hyiiiciiaca Vcrrnicosa : C(>f>aliil(>. ffy)iiciiaca Coiirbaril ; Ciiiap- 
inolillo. Zarzaparrilla or 

Sarsapavilla, Siiiiilas Medicinal, the best c|uality ])r<)duce(l in 
the \\f)rl(l. and in ^reat abundance on the whole of the north 
coast. 

Cinchona or Quinine tree (or Peruvian P>ark). ( Irows in .\ic- 
arag^ua, and would liere if planted in the low lands. It is said 
to be verv profitable, (hiinine of commerce is made from the 
bark. 

Quassia. 

I'anilla. Ilf^idendntni I'aiiilla. A vine bearini»- the celebrated 
fragrant bean wliicli is here notable for the lars^e size of the 
pods, which sell for $8.00 to «$^).oo to $15.00 per jiound in the 
States, and can be boufjht from the native collectors for 50c. 

MFDK I.XAL I'L.WTS. 

Also l])ecacuanha, jalap. Crolon. Hellebore. .Aconite. Condu- 
ran<4d, Helladonna, (linger. Aloes. Rhubarb. Licorice, tonka beans. 
kola-nul. Camphor of b^ormosa. Coco, (|uis((uis or c|uiscamo, or 
tania, and podophyllum, from the root of the Granadillo vine, or 
May Apple, and others in countless variety, the virtues of which 
are well known to the .Natives. P>ut only a few can be found 
in the i)harniacopoeia of the U. S., sucli as the Caroa, a lar<;e 
tree 30 or more feet in height and i to 13^ feet in diameter, 
with pink flowers, an infusion of wdiich in boilinp^ water is a 
specific for cough. P)ears a bean 30 inches long, good for herpes 
and skin diseases in general, and is a regulator of female periods. 
The leaves are good for summer complaint, and also for skin 
diseases. 

Huaeo or Guaco Serpeufaria. — .\ parasitical vine ; is an effica- 
cious remedy for snake bites. 

Espiu'o bianco (Acacia Arabiga). The root is used, macerated 
in hot water and taken internally, and also applied to the bite. 
The Ccdron, a soft nut that cuts like soft pine, is said to be 
equally efificacious. 

Also the seeds of the snake akro, wdiich is a vegetable, made 
into a paste and applied as a poultice and taken internally. Also 
the plant knowai as the Eryngo, is known to be efficacious. How- 
ever, snakes are not at all numerous. 

125 



The Chilpafe, a vine, Avhich is pounded to a pulp and a decoc- 
tion made in water. This is then thrown into the water, where 
there is fish. It intoxicates them so that they can be canght 
with the hands. Is possibly the Saf'iiidus Sapaiiaria. 

VEGETABLE OILS 

are produced by the following: Corozo Palm, Cohune Palm, 
Coyol Palm, the Jolis, Marango, Cacaquate, Castor oil plant and 
Cocoanut. 

FRUIT TREES. 

A'isl^ero or Sapote. Sapotc Maurosa. Five and 6 inches diam- 
eter, brown and sweet. Wild and abundant. 

Sapotillo (Little Sapote), Achras Sapota. Size of an apple, 
brown and sweet; similar to the Sapote. Wild. 

Karanja. (Orange.) Citrus. — Large and very sweet. Equal 
to the best Florida. Two crops are raised in a year. \\' ood of all 
the Citrus family is hard, fine grained and esteemed for cabinet 
work. 

Limoncillo (Lime). Citrus. — Abundant. 

Limon (Lemon), Citrus. — Large, thin skinned and juicv, equal 
to best Sicil}'. 

Ltjna (Sweet Ljmon), ('"Forbidden Fruit.'") — Plentiful. 

Cidra: (Tree Citron.) Citrus Tuberosa. 

Taronja. (Grape Fruit or Shaddock.) Citrus Dccuuiaituiit 
A fruit 5-6 inches in diam., resembling the orange. Brings 
$5 to $6 per box in Xew York City. 

Cacao (Chocolate). Cultivated. The Government pays a 
bonus of 10 cents for each cacao tree planted, provided not less 
than 2,000 are planted. 

Cacao Mico, or Cacao SiJvcstrc, wild Chocolate. Grows in 
great abundance on Xorth Coast. Smaller than the cultivated. 
Much esteemed for its good flavor. 

Sea Grape, or Maiii^Ic Grape. CocoJaba Cz-ifera. 

Alincndro. Wild Almond. 

Anonas of various classes, such as Sugar .\pi)le : the Chirimoya. 
Auoiia Reticulata ; the wild, .luoua Sijuasumosa. and the Guana- 
vana. Anoiia Muricata. In the opinion of lliuulxildt and many 
others, the Chirimoya is the most delicious fruit of America. 
Called in Jamaica sweet so]) and sour so]x 

Aquacate (Avocado Pear, .Alligator Pear). Persea Gratissiuia. 
About the size if a large Bartlct Pear, u]) to twice as large. Has 

12ti 



a larjT^e, round seed. Is called vegetable butter, and is a natural 
salad, very highly esteemed, (ireen and brown, smooth skin. 

Tauiariiido. 

Ciiayava (Guava), Psidiiun Cuajavas. \'arieties: (luayava 
Savana, P. Pomifcrnm, Guayava China, P. Simcnsc. All these 
fruits differ but slightly. They are round, about the size of a 
peach, smooth skin, yellow and some white. Inside, scjme red. 
some white and some yellow. Sub acid. Full of seeds. Make 
the well-known guava jelly and sauce. W'ofxl hard and good. 
Tree abdUt ^ inches in diameter and 20 feet hisjh. 




Yt)LX(; Banana J'i.ants Gnowixo ix Feli.kd .Irxc;i,E. 

Piuus (Pineapples), Broinclia Anona. Several varieties. Grow 
luxuriantly. 

Mango (Mangofcra Dojiicsfica). Two varieties: common 
Mango and Mango chato. First is best. Grows wild. Delicious 
fruit, with a large seed. Skin smooth. More nearlv resembles 



127 



a cling-stone peach, Imt is larger and kidney shaped. Color red- 
dish yellow and green, with blotches. Larg'e tree 40 feet high^ 
2 to 23.4 feet diameter. Spreading-. Wood soft and not used. 

PAWTAAA^-MEAT. 

Papaya (l^awpaw), Carica Papaya. Two varieties, the Wild, 
which is small and only used in conserves, an;l the cultivated, 
which is 12 to t6 inches Icng-, resennbling a musk melon in ap- 
pearance and taste. \ ery nice. Tree 25 to 30 feet high and 
I to lyi feet diameter. Wood so soft it cannot properly be 
called wood. This fruit is considered a strong- abortifacient by 
the Natives of Nicaragua. This tree has the peculiar property 
of rendering- meat soft and tender which is hung in its branches 
or wrapped up in its leaves or conked with it. This fruit and 
tree is entirely distinct from the pawpaw of the \A\\stern I'. S. 

Graiiado (Pomegranate). Piinica Grauatuin. Size of large 
apple. Skin smooth red. Inside full of seeds. Pulp red and 
very cooling- and sw*eet. 

Grmiadillo. A delicious fruit about the size of a turkey's egg'r 
resembling- the j\Iay apple, but having- a delicious flavor. Outside 
smooth and greenish in color. Grows on a vine. The root fur- 
nishes the active principle of podoph\llum, a well-km^wn medi- 
cine. 

Majiicy, Lucuma Bomplandi. Green or yelhiw fruit, about 6 
inches long and half as thick ; rough skin, pulp white, soft, 
sweet — sub acid, cooling-, can he eaten with a spot^n and tastes 
like ice cream. A truly delicious fruit. 

A^ancc. 

Jocotc, 

Manzaiia Rosa (Rose apple). Eugenia Jaiubos. A small ap- 
ple, red and white, with the odor of a rose. 

ManzaniUa. (Little Indian Apple.) Color green. About the 
size of a small peach. This and the preceding- grow on the 
high lands. 

Negrito. ( I'lack Cherry.) Sweet and about the size of ordi- 
nary cherry. 

Durazno. (Peach.) AuiygdaUis Persieo, \ .. Crows of the 
largest size on the high lands, and very fine. 

MeiiibriUo. (Quince.) Pynis Cydouia. 1.. (irows i^f the <)rdi- 
nary size, sanie as in New l-lngland. iMumd in ihe liighlands. 

Menihrillo Silresfre. (Wild (juince.) 

Maranoii or Lebibo. Seiiiiearf^iis . htaeardiiiiii. I'ruit about 

12s 



the size of a crab apple, smcjotli skin, yellow and red. Stone on 
the outside, in place of the stem, "ives it a sinsjular a])i)earance. 
Sweet and a little sour. \'er\- healthy. 

Marauon dc IIiicso. Cassiiiiiuii Foiiiiiiifcra. Similar to aijove, 
hut more oval sha])e<l and sweeter. 

Caimito. Xo informaticjn. 

Soiisapotc. M aiii^uifcra iloiiicslica. Ditto. 

Melon (Musk-IMelon ). Same as in the States and same size. 

Saiidia (Water Melon). (Irows only one-(|uarter the size of 
those in the States. 

Ziuicnya. Described as very similar to a water melon; sweet, 
and eaten raw. 

Mclocotoii. A kind of .Melon. \2 to i6 inches long', and sliai'yed 
somethin<T^ like a I 'apaya. Sweet and good. 

Coco Plum. 

Pigeon Plum. 

cocoAxr'rs. 

Cocoauut. Cocas Xuclfcra. \.. (irows all over ihc country, 
but particularly on the north coast, where there are wild proves 
many miles in extent. 

Cocoanuts he^in to hear ^ years from planting, and cc^ntinue 
for lOO years. ( )ne tree hears v$2.oo to $3.00 per year of nuts, 
without counting value of husks and by-products. Si.xty trees 
are planted to an acre, and it is only necessary to burv the nut 
in the earth and clear away a little space around it. 

The cost of setting out a grove and getting it in l)earing, 
that is. watching it and cutting the too rank growth tor 3 years, 
including first costs of nuts, is only $40.00 per acre, and can be 
done for half that in some localities. 

Su(^a. Fruit of the Sujia Palm. 

Mora. Mulberry. 

Apncots. Reported, but did not see an_\-. High lands. 

Tomatoes. Large and smrill. 

.-ikcc fruit. Long and red ; about the size of a medium sized 
Pear. 

Star Aj^plc. ( Xnt informed.) 

B AX AX AS. 

Gu'uieo (Banana). Musa Paradisiaca, L. Several varieties. 
Long yellow Apple banana. Ladies' fingers; short vellow, etc. 
Grow all over the countr^•. ^^'ild on Patuca river. A conserva- 
tive estimate of the profits of banana raising is $50 to $60 per 

129 



acre ; $50 fcr the first year and $60 for the next 10 years. 
Some say with care $75. A plantation will continue to produce 
15 to 30 years. They ripen every day of the year, but principally 
from February to July. Plants mature enough to pick in 10 
months from setting out of shoot. A bunch weighs on an aver- 
age 60 lbs., and runs up to 100 lbs. Dwarf Bananas are 3 inches 
long, called Ladies' Fingers, bear 200 to a bunch, and they grow 
from the seashore up to an elevation of 5,000 feet. 

Sixty feet scjuare of land will produce 4,000 pounds of ordi- 
nary sized bananas, which will support 50 persons 2 weeks. 
Excellent flour is made from the dried bananas and plantains 
which is used for making bread, cake, etc.. and much liked. 

There is a manufactory in San Pedro Sula, and they sell their 
flour for 4^ cents (U. S.) per pound. This flour is now made 
so that it keeps equally well with cornmeal or wheat flour, and 
the process is not expensive. The green bananas and plantains 
are used. By establishing a factory of this kind we could use 
up all the small and unmarketable fruit. The banana steam- 
ships will not take bunches with less than 8 hands, and these 
are consequently allowed to go to waste or fed to hogs and 
mules and cattle. 

Plafaiio. (Plantain.) (Adam's Fig.) Mitsa Paradisiaca. L. 
Largely grown on North Coast. Wild on Patuca River. Ex- 
ported. 

PLANTAINS AS FOOD. 

According to Humboldt "'a. bunch will have 160 to 180 plantains, 
and w'ill weigh 60 to 80 pounds, and 100 yards square of land, 
with the plants 3 yards apart, wall contain 1,089 plants, and if 
each plant has one bunch of 60 pounds in weight, we will have 
the amount of 65.340 pounds of food, and supposing that a man 
can eat 6 pounds, there will be sufiicient to feed 10,890 per- 
sons." On the North Coast of Honduras a single plantain 
weighs 16-17 to 18 ounces, which are more than twice the size 
of those Humboldt estimated on, and one root plant will have 
from 3 to 5 plants in a bunch, each with a buncli of fruit. Tak- 
ing the smallest number, 3, wc will have as the product of 100 
yards square of land, i(/),020 pounds, wliich will feed ^^2.6/0 
individuals. 

\"alle. writing of llic iilaiitain. sa\s "that in all tlie elements 
that go to form a vegetable, the plantain is distinguished, the 
glory of .\merica, the riches of her sons, the greatest beauty of 
the earth." 

130 



OXE ACRE OF PLAXTAIX EQUALS 133 ACRES OF 
WHEAT, 44 ACRES OF POTATOES. 

TTumboldt has l:)eeii much criticised for his statement that 
"i acre of plantains produces a quantity of food equal to 133 
acres of wheat and 44 of potatoes." but in view of the flour that 
can be made from the green plantains and the use of the ripe 
and green ones for food, taken in connection with the above 
computations, it dees not seem exaggerated. The inner bud of 
the plant also makes good boiled greens, and the juice or sap is 
an iii(lc]il)le ink, good for marking linen. 

COFFEE. 

Cafe. (Coffee.) Coffea-].. There are three varieties. The 
ordinary coffee of Central America, which is classed by the 
trade as "Maracaibo," and which grows best on the high lands, 
but will grow on the low lands also, if not too wet, as I have 
seen it growing at Truxillo, not over 150 feet above sea level. 
2. The second variety is the "Liberia" Coffee, which grows 
luxuriantl}' close to the sea. This gives a larger berrv of a fine 
flavor, but the objection to it is that it grows to be a large tree, 
40 feet high, and so it is difficult to pick the fruit. It might 
perhaps be cut back and dwarfed. 3. The third variety. "Cara- 
col" (Caracola), is a round little berry and considered as the 
best one, like the coft'ee of the Island of Ceylon, similar to Mul- 
berry coft"ee in the trade. The Covernment pays a bonus of 5 
cents on each coff'ec tree planted, jirovided not less than 5,000 
are planted. 

GRAPES. 

U-i'ii. (Crape.) J'itis viiiifera. L. They grow well all over 
the country. In the times of the Spanish dominion there were 
large vineyards planted on the mountain slopes of Truxillo. and 
they flourished so well and gave promise of producing so much 
wine as to ruin the export of wine from the old countrv to 
America ; thereupon the king of Spain ordered them all de- 
stroyed, which was done, and the raising of grapes was thence- 
forth forbidden by royal edict, and has never been revived. 
Ogilvy, the English Geographer, writing in 1661, says, "the 
countrv roimdabout (Truxillo) abounds chiefl\- in grapes." 

Palo del Pail. (Bread Fruit.) This is a fruit, green in color, 
round, and about 4 inches in diameter. Is an excellent substitute 

131 



for bread, boiled or baked. Grows in great numbers, on a large, 
spreading-, large-leaved tree, about 40 feet high and 2 to 2)4 feet 
diameter. Wood soft and is put to no use. Thrives in low 
lands along the coast. 

Matasa)i'0. A greenish colored fruit, about the size and shape 
of the very largest pumpkin apple. Taste something like an over- 
ripe apple and a peach. Has two large stones. A very nice fruit. 

CranadUlo. A delicious fruit about the size of a turkey's egg 
and same shape, with hard outer shell, the interior a sweet, semi- 
liquid, pulp with seeds, very cooling and delicate. Can be drank 
or eaten with a spoon. 

Oii7'cs, Dates and Figs grow luxuriantly. Sago could be 
raised. 

SPICES. 

Pimienta. (Black Pepper.) Myrfus Pijiicnta. Same as the 
Jamaica Pepper. Grows wild. Berries are larger, but not so 
strong. 

PimicntiUo. Small pepper. 

Cinnainoii. A variety grows wild. 

Chile. (Red Pepper, Cayenne or Indian Pepper.) Capsicum 
Baccatum-L. or Annuum L. Grows luxuriantly. Is dried and 
ground up for table use. A good business could be done by 
making Tobasco sauce from these peppers. 

AUspiee, Cloves, Xucz, Maseada Xiitniegs (]\Iyristica Aromat- 
ica L.). 



TEXTILE PLANTS. 



COTTO\. 

Algodon. (Cotton.) Is indigenous, and of the finest quality. 
Columbus found the natives here dressed in cotton clothes. The 
descendants of these same Indians now raise, and make the same 
kind of cotton cloth on the Patuca river. 

Instead of being an annual plant it is here ])erennial. and is a 
tree growing 12 to 15 feet high and (^ inches in diameter, and 
yields double the (|uantity it does in the C S. 

/'//(/. I In Mexico. I.vlle.) Hroiiielia Pita. A species of 
.Agave. I'ibre 5 tn () feel long. When l)leaclie(l and ])re]iared. 

1 -Ai 



cannot Ije distin^uislK'd from silk, except with microscope. 
Chevremont, a i!eli;ian ent^ineer, says: '"I'ita rcjpes are .4 times 
strong-er than hemj)." 

]'iica. Three varieties with leaves from 18 to t,') incl es in 
leii^Ui, which prodnce valnahlc fihres. 




One of ouk Native Hoises. 



SISAL HE^IP. 



Agaz'c sisalaiia. Hcncqncn ; sisal hemp of Commerce grows 
wild and luxuriantly. Price in Liverpool July ist, 1899, £33.00 
per ton. $6,000,000 capital is invested in its producticn in Yuca- 
tan. 

Ramie antl Jtttc could also be raised to perfection. In 1891 
there were imported into the L'. S. from the East Indies '/t^t,,2(:)6 
bales of jute and an immeu-se (luantitx- of other fibers. 



183 



PALAIS. 

Coca '(Cocoanut). Cocos Xiicifcra L. Grows 75 to 80 feet 
high and 10 inches diameter. (All palms grow smaller in diame- 
ter as they grow older. ) Well known edible nut. Drinking 
cups, shells, cordage, mats, brushes and so forth are made from 
the husks. Oil is made from the nut. Leaves used for thatching- 
houses. Trunks used for piles, houses and Fine Furniture. The 
fermented milk makes an intoxicating drink. In fact, the many 
uses to which this tree is put would fill several pages. See my 
article on Nicaragua woods in "Engineering Xews." L^nfortu- 
nately, sea-worms eat cocoanut wood. 

Cohune. A low, trunkless palm, much prized by the Indians 
for the fruit or berries, from which they extract a fragrant oil 
which they use on their haii'. 

IVarri Cohune (miscalled Acacia). A taller tree. Aloderately 
numerous. 

Coyal, or Corozo (or Wine Palm). Elais Guinecnscs L. 
Grows 40 feet high and 14 inches in diameter. Has hard outer 
shell, interior soft and pithy. Produces an oil (from the fruit) 
which is perfectly clear and limpid. Is excellent to keep fine 
instruments from rusting, and would undoubtedly make a desir- 
able watch makers' oil. It brings a high price. Numerous. 

Silico cm (or Black Palm). Grows 20 to 25 feet high and 
14 to 16 inches diameter. 

Snpa. Thirty feet high, 10 inches in diameter. Thorny trunk. 
Appears to be the ^Nlaquenji or Pijibiu of Nicaragua. Highly 
prized by the Indians for the fruit, which is about the size of a 
peach, some being yellow and some red. They boil the fruit and 
eat it. Tastes something like boiled chestnuts, and is very nutri- 
tious. Is much planted by the Indians. 

Pijibiu Palm. Resembles the Supa, and is the same size, with 
thorny trunk. Outer shell extremely hard and takes a good 
polish for canes and furniture. Inside of trunk pithy. Is used 
for water gutters and pipes. Numerous in Nicaragua. 

Papta Palm. Grows 15 or 20 feet high and about 3 inches 
in diameter. Rough, seal}- trunk. Fibrous. Leaf stalks serrated 
or with toothed saw-like edges. 

\'ery numerous at Patuca village and (in the savannas. Can 
be used with advantage in Mattress work. Sea worms do not 
eat it to any extent. Resembles the Saw Palmetto of b^lorida, 
but grows erect. 

Palmetto. Resembles the last, but has smooth leaves, stalks 
and trunk, and grows the same size and height. Differs from 

1:N 



the Florida Palmetto in not being serratefl and in its erect growth. 
It is numerous in restricted localities, (irows in the vicinitv of 
Aloca Bila. 




Palnia Real {Royal Palm, or Cabbage Palm). A handsome 
tree 80 to 90 feet high and only 8 or 9 inches in diameter. 
Shell very hard, interior soft and pithy. Entirely different from 



135 



the cabl^ai^e palm of Florida. Cirows ail along- tlie Patuca river; 
makes beautiful canes and furniture. Takes a fine polish. The 
large bud. some 2y2 feet long-, on top of the trunk is an excellent 
edible cabbage, as I can testif}' from personal use. 

Paliiia Blaiica [Cabbage Paliiicfto or Palm). Sabal Palmetto. 
Grows about 20 feet high in the interior and South Coast. Pos- 
sibly on tlie North Coast. Identical with the Florida and South 
Carolina Palmetto. Bears a small, black and sweet berry, about 
as large as a currant, with seed about as big as a pea. This seed 
is roasted and used for coffee in Florida, and in Honduras is 
considered efficacious for liver troubles. Like the Royal Palm, 
the bud is an excellent cabbage, and forms a staple article of food 
for camping parties in hlorida. Trunks much used for piling in 
Florida, as Sea Worms do not eat it as much as some other 
woods. 

Sititi. ( Fish Tail, or Monkey Tail Palm.) Szi'eetiiiia. A 
small low palm about breast high that grows over large areas 
of level land bordering on the rivers, and is considered a sign 
of good lands. Might be used for mattress filling on the harbor 
work. 

OFFICL\L SPECIMENS. 

In preparing this article on the Woods of Honduras, I have 
been greatly assisted by the late Seiior Don Samuel A'alladeres. 
the Director of the Government School of Arts, who kindly caused 
a large collection of the principal varieties of lumber and cabi- 
net woods to be made and planed or polished and named for me, 
so I have been able to write my descriptions in most cases from 
the official specimens. 

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. 

Mai.:: (Corn). Is one of the principal home staples, and when 
no drouth occurs, 3 crops can be produced in a year on the 
same land. It grows all over the Republic, and no fertilizer is 
used. Strange to say, there arc no grist mills in the State, and 
corn meal or hominy (grits) are never seen. It is alwavs pre- 
pared 1)\- soaking in lime water, or water and wood ashes. It 
is then rubbed with the hands imtil the outer skin is rubbed c^ff. 
It is then ground on a metale uK^linera, which consists of a 
large stone cut out somewhat concave on top and with ,^ or 4 
short stone legs. .\ stone roller, about tlie si/t" ( f a brcid roller, 
is used t'l grind it. When tborouglilx ground it is baked in thin 

136 



cakes like fla])-j;icks. CKrn i-eseinl)lt'S that of Xew Eiii^land, 
rather than the Southern or Western \ariety. Forty bushels of 
corn ])r(Kluce 1.200 lbs. of starch. 









^^^K^^^H^^^^H 


1H 


^^H|^^^_|^^|^gBH 








^^^^^^^^Vlflt^^LJi ^U^^^^^^^^^l 




^^^^^^^HvisM^^^H, '^alVB^BH^I 



















Trii:;o {JJlwat). Is qrown on the mountain slopes and down 
to the level of Juticalpa. which is 8oo _feet a bove t he se a. There 
are three or four small wind-mills in different parts of the State 
that make a good but dark flour. 

137 



Ccntcno (Rye). Is also raised and made into flour. 

Ccbada (Barley). Ditto. 

Anoz (Rice). Grows and heads beautifully. Is much culti- 
vated by the Indians in the Patuca valley. 

Patatas, Papas {Potatoes). White or Irish are raised in the 
high lands, and Cainote (Siveet Potatoes) all over the State. 

Yajiie, Yiica, Casava, Manioco (Yam). Ditto. They often 
grow to a weight of 50 or 60 lbs. Those growing on the nortli 
coast are notable for their good quality and large size. Valu- 
able for starch making. Six tons of Casava produces 2,400 lbs. 
of starch. 

Coco, quisqiiis, quiscaiiio {tania). A large-leaved lily, with 
roots tasting much like an Irish potato. A'ery strongly "tongue- 
tied." Astringent Avhen raw. 

Frijoles (Beans). Are of universal use, and as cooked by the 
natives they are very nice. There are several kinds, the red pre- 
dominating. A kind of white field pea, the garbansas, is large 
and excellent. Superior to those of the Southern States. 

Tobacco. The soil and climate of Honduras have been proven 
to be well adapted for tobacco. In 1884 leaf tobacco and cigars 
raised and made in Copan, Honduras, received the first prize at 
the Xew Orleans exposition, and this in competition with Cuba 
and Mexico. There is no tobacco manufactured in Honduras 
except in the shape of cigars and cigarettes. The Indians on 
the Patuca river raise all their own tobacco. 

Sugar Cane. The soil and location of the lower Patuca valley 
is pre-eminently adapted for not only raising the cane, but for 
transportation to a mill erected, say at Patuca, as described more 
fullv in my preliminary report. It grows almost wild for 15 
years after being planted, requiring no cultivation of the soil and 
only a periodical cutting down of the bushes, because the lower 
river, annually overflowing its banks like the Xile, deposits a 
rich top dressing of fertilizing sediment around the stalks. 

The Indians raise quite a large amount of cane in the Patuca 
valley, where it grows longer and larger than T ever saw it in 
Florida or elsewhere, and the stalks are softer. It is ground in 
rude wooden, home-made mills by the Indians and Caribs. who 
make their own syru]) and muscovado, or heavy wet brown sugar. 
They also make aguadiente, or rum. from it. 

\'ECETAr.LES. 

Saz'oyas (Onions), beets, turnips, carrots, cabbages, cauli- 
flower, lettuce, pumpkins, squashes, cucumbers, radishes and, in 

U-fS 



fact, all kinds of garden vegetables, grow and thrive in the high 
lands on your grant. In the low. rich lands of the coast, onions, 
cabbages, English ])eas, Irish potatoes and sweet corn do not do 
so well, and melons and sweet ])otatoes are said to run ton nuich to 
vines. 









^8^ 




§^ 









CrxTiNG A Fri.LY Matured Bunch of Bananas 
FROM A Plant Eleven Months Oi.i>. 

Tonca beans, butter nuts, kola nuts and Brazil nuts can un- 
doubtedly be grown, as I am informed by ^Ir. John A. ]\Iacdonald, 
a botanist, who was planting a Botanical Garden at Truxillo when 
I was there last year. 

1-^9 



Mici { H'nicy). Honey bees are found all over the Republic, 
and the wild honey is often found in the woods. The inhabitants 
also raise them and hang up, generally from the eaves of the 
house, a hollow log, w'ith a small hole for the bee to enter, and 
stopped up at the other end with clay. Honey raising could 
undoubtedly be made profitable here, as there are a great manv 
flowering trees and shrubs. 

COXNECTIXG LLXES OF COMMUXICATIOX. 

Canal From Carataska Lagoon to ToconiacJio. 
This is an enterprise that is probably of comparatively easy ac- 
complishment, judging from the part of it that I examined and 
the statements of the natives thereabouts and maps ; but I would 
not expect it to develop traffic enough for many years, until the 
country is mere thickly settled, to prove a paying investment. 
Unfortunately the Act of Congress reserving all the coast lines, 
for a distance of 8 kilometers from the shore, would prevent 
the lands being granted, in fee simple, along the canal, but they 
would have to be taken in the interior. This canal would be of 
great convenience to our Company, as affording a safe and always 
available means of communication and transportation of products 
along the whole front of your grant, and its feasibility and cost 
should be ascertained as soon as the other works are completed. 

Road From lJ\issprcssiii to Tegucigalpa. 

According to the ]\Iap, the distance from the A\'asspressni to 
Catacamas is 52 miles. A force of men are now engaged in the 
interest of the concessionists, Charles S. Babcock, C. \\\ Lindsay, 
Frank N".- Wilder and William Alton, Jr., represented by Arthur 
H. Howland, Chief Engineer, in cutting a mule trail through the 
forest from Catacamas to the Wassi:)ressni river, to open up the 
lands granted to them under their concession, which extends 
on both sides of the Patuca river from the Portal del Infierno 
(Hell (iate) below Catacamns to th.c Wasspresspi. and have 
C( ]U])leted about f(^ur-fifths the distance from Catacamas. This 
\\\]\ be of great benefit to us. as b\- it. in connection with our 
steamers, we are put in direct communication with the ca])ital. 

The distance from Catacamas to Juticalpa is 4s miles on the 
maj-) iniblished 1)\- the I'.ureau of .\merican Republics. On Rand 
& Mc.Xrdly's ma]) it is 25 miles onh-, which gives a \-erv fair idea 
of the cartograi^liy of tlie l\eini])lic. Tliere never having been 
an\- survey of tlu' State, there can be no accurate maps. The 
distance given in the Census Report for 1887 is 33 miles. 

140 




Naiivks at Pati ( a. 



Tegucigalpa, the Capital of Honduras, has a population of 
21.8/2, and its elevation is 3.200 feet above the sea. 

Its freight is nearly all broug^ht and shipped via Amapala (on 
the Pacific side). I observed the freight crossing the bridge into 
this city from Amapala for several days, and I estimate it to be 
at the rate of 6^ tons per day for every day in the year, or 
2,250 tons per year, for which the merchants are now paying 
8.00 pesos per 200 lbs., equal to pesos 80.00 per ton. or $38.72 
O. A. (gold, counting pesos at 44). * * * 

HINTS TO COLONISTS. 

JVhat One Can Do At Patiica or Rita Tara. 
The occupations or enterprises in which a person can engage 
in a place like Patuca or Rita Tara, where cheap ocean freights 
can be had to any part of the world, and where the cost of living 
can be reduced to a minimum, owing to cheap lands, no rents, 
abundance of fire wood at the simple cost of cutting and haul- 
ing, a warm and healthy climate and no taxes, are of two kinds, 
viz. : 

INDUSTRIES. 

1st. — Those industries of a general class that do not depend 
upon the prodvicts of the adjacent locality for their raw material, 
such as lace making, manufacture of toys, hand-made watches, 
manufacture of shoe blacking, perfumery, hair oil, etc., the raw 
material of which is often brought from a great distance to the 
place of manufacture. 

2nd. — Those industries that depend upon the products of the 
country for their raw material. 

I propose to speak in detail of the last only. The production of 
the raw material, such as the raising of the various kinds of tropi- 
cal fruits, rubber, grain and agricultural products in general, cat- 
tle and mining, have already been alluded to. 

I will now mention a few of the industries peculiarly adai^ted 
to utilize the raw material of the region. The first in import- 
ance appears to me to be the Manufacture of line Furniture and 
Lumber for cabinet work. 

Squared Mahogany logs arc now bringing in Now ^'ork from 
$75.00 to $150.00 per M. P.. M. 

Vessels do not like to take logs less than n foci in length, and 
some vessels refuse to take them unless they can have a full load 
of that size or it is said not to pay to shiji. for this and other rea- 
sons. 

142 



S.\\\I':D L()(iS IJETTER. 

In measuring' in Xcw ^'ork. the buyers throw off one inch on 
each side of squared logs on account of cuts and roughness of 
the hewed faces and all knots, shakes, rot and imperfections re- 
duces the measuren:cnt one-half, so it results that you have to 
pav freight on consiflcrahlc more lumber than vou can sell. The 




A Cacao Tki:k. 

export duty on IMalicgany from Honduras is 4.00 pesos per M., 
equal to about $1.75 gold, according to the price of silver. 

FREIGHT RATES. 

^lahogany cutting ha? always been recognized as a very profit- 
able industrv. but th.e cutters hive alwavs, and do now. labor 



143 



under a great disadvantage in having no harbors, except Puerto 
Cortez. en the coast. Ships will not go to load at UUoa, Brewer's 
Lagoon, or Patuca bars at all. except in the months of ^lay, June 
and July, and they then charge double rates over Puerto Cortez. 
The freight now from Puerto Cortez to Xew York is $5.00 per 
ton, but 50 per cent, discounts can be had on "continuing" char- 
ters. I ^I. feet B. ]\I. about 4,000 lbs. := 2 tons = $10.00 per M., 
and double rates would be $20.00 per ?il. from Patuca bar. But 
with the jetties built and channel opened and buoyed and lighted, 
the price should be no more than from Puerto Cortez. 

A large number of Mahogany logs are lost annually in at- 
tempting to load them outside the bars. In walking the beach 
from Brewer's Lagoon to Patuca, I noticed hundreds of logs, the 
majority in a good state of preservation, that had broken adrift 
and been cast on the beach and abandoned. These logs were 
worth from $35.00 to $75.00 a piece, and could be easily saved 
by taking a tug-boat along the beach and hauling them ofif, one 
at a time, by means of a long line. 

FURXITURE. 

The advantages of a furniture factorv at Patuca or Rita Tara 
are these, viz. : We can work up into furniture all the tops and 
stumps of the ^Mahogany and other fine wood trees, which are 
the best part, and which it is difficult to ship, and which are now 
left to rot in the woods, thus increasing the productive value of 
our grant, as far as timber is concerned, over 100 per cent. We 
can utilize in this way all the other beautiful cabinet woods, pre- 
viously described, which now have no rated values in the lumber 
trade because unknown, and thus give them a market value and 
create a demand for them. We can utilize the marbles that exist 
on our grant for furniture (table and Imreau tops, etc.), and we 
can ship the furniture knocked down to be j^ut t(\gether in the 
States. 

If C. S. im]iort duties become pnihihitory, a large trade might 
be built up in foreign countries. .A large home trade can be 
develo])ed in Central .\merica, there being no furniture factories 
there, while a hand-made IxMlroiMU suit c(^sts ton times as much 
as in the U. S. 

The Pittsburg-Honduras Cdmpany ha\e rcjlized the truth of 
this reasoning and are now engaged in putting uj) a furniture 
factory and saw mill, to cost $150,000. witli the largest gang saws 
to cut the large slumps, nn the TTnnduras R. R.. near San Pedro 



Sula (250 miles frnni I'atuca). and liavc ihc iiiacliiiicrv already 011 
the jrround. and have Iniilt a 1\. R. 7 miles lon:^- for hauling lop^s. 
They have a saw mill already in operation. 

'liie most heautiful high-priced furniture in the world can be 
made from these now unknown woods. 

OTIIKR ARTlCLh:S IX Tllh: WOOD LIXE. 

Such as canes, umbrella .sticks, tooth and hair brush handles, 
gun and pistol stocks, fine carriages, carfinishing, mantles, tool 
handles, fine fish rods, engineers', surveyors' and architects' instru- 
ments, mirror and picture frames, counting house and bank fit- 
tings, ])u]le\s, l)locks and sheave^, cabin fini^binu". cloors. wain- 




1.(1A11IN(; IVWANAS 1\ llll-; 1>(1A' 



scoting, window and door frames, and house finishing generally, 
carving, turned goods, etc.. spindles and shuttles, buttons, tooth 
picks, boxes, electrical fittings, barrels and kegs (to be shipped 
knocked down), packing cases and fruit crates (for home mar- 
ket), R. R. ties, etc. 

Scrubbing brushes, from the palmetto, cocoanut and other 
lialms. This is a profitable business in Florida, and there is a 
large steam factory at Jacksonville. 

Mats, from cocoanut and other i^alm fil)res ard husks. 

Cordage, tzvinc, gunny bags, saddle bags or alforjas. hammocks, 
etc.. from the same and the other fibers mentioned on a preceding 

145 



page. These are also made for home demand by the natives. 

Ship and boat building. This industry could be advantageously 
carried on here, as- it is on the Bay Islands, as there is abund- 
ance of the finest shipbuilding timber. 

All carts, launches, oars, tow. tar, pitch, lime, Roman cement 
and zinc are admitted free of all duties. (Decree Xo. 83, Hon- 
duras Acts of 1896.) 

Manufacture of Turpentine, Rosin, Tar and Pitch: 

The area of turpentine forests on your grant is undoubtedly 
fully 200 square miles, and may be double that, and it is so 
intersected with rivers that the transportation of the products to 
the coast will be easy. I noticed several fine turpentine orchards 
near Rita Tara, which were also good R. R. tie timber. Trees 
have never been boxed. I boxed two trees and obtained a good 
run of gum. Labor is so very cheap that I think the production 
of naval stores would be profitable, more especially as prices are 
now high. 

Lamp Black is made by burning pitch pine in small chambers 
and collecting the soot on gunny cloth or the wool side of sheep 
skins. Cheap labor and abundance of pitch pine should make this 
industry profitable. 

The tops and stumps of the trees cut for lumber could be 
utilized in this way. 

Varnish. The tree that produces Copal A'arnish grows plenti- 
fully on your grant, and this valuable varnish and other kinds 
could undoubtedly be made at a profit by an}- one who understood 
the business. 

Vegetable and Animal Oils. The Corozo Palm and Coyol Palm 
abound on your grant, and valuable oil can be made from the 
nuts. The former bears a raceme of nuts, that weigh 150 to 200 
lbs. A concession was granted several years ago to a French 
Company for making oil from the former. 

They imported their machiner}^, but the IManager became vio- 
lently insane before the works were started, and it fell through. 

\'aluab]e oil is also obtained from the Cocoanut. as is well 
known. 

Essential oils are olitained from orange and lemon jieel, turpen- 
tine, pennyroxal and nian\- nuts, seeds and plants too numerous 
to mention. 

A very valuable o\\ is obtained from turtle eggs, which are 
foimd on the beacli and in immerse numliers in tlieir season, June, 
July ^n(\ .August. 

I'or])oise jaw ( il. the most lii.Jily prized l)y watchmakers, is ob- 

140 







52i 



14" 



taiiitcl from the jaw of the porpoise, which ahouncl at certain 
seasons in the mouths of ah the streams running out of your 
grant and all along the coast. 

Train oil and fish oil can also be made from the blubber of the 
porpoise and from fishes here as well as in any other place, and 
shark's liver oil could be made in large quantities from the 
sharks that are numerous in the mouths of the rivers and all along 
tlie coast. A valuable oil is also said to be made from monkey fat. 

Paiiii Oil Soap has a high reputation for use in hard water, 
and even sea water. This and other soaps and Glue can be made 
here. 

Pof and Pearl Ash are made from hard wood ashes. There 
is abundance of material that can be thus utilized when clearings 
are being made in the forest for plantations. The Espina bianco 
or white thorn, gum-arabic tree, an acacia, is especially rich in 
potash. 

Hard zvood aslies as Fertilisers is largely made in Canada and 
exported to Florida and all over the United States. It would 
seem that it could be made and exported from Honduras, by 
ocean freight, with better facility. 

Fish scrap fertiliser is largely made in Xew England and 
Florida, and could be made profitable here in connection with the 
manufacture of oil. 

RVM. 

Siigar^ Syrup, Molasses and Ruin. The Patuca valley is pecu- 
liarly well adapted for the making of these articles, as explained 
in my preliminary report. The manufacture of rum or aguardiente 
is a monopoly of the Government, and is extremely profitable. 
In fact, it is to-day the most profitable business in the country. 
A contract has to be made with the Government which is easily 
arranged. Tlie rum has to be delivered to the (Government, who 
pay at the rate of 23 cents in silver per bottle, or 10 cents gold, 
equal to 50 cents per gallon, but deduct a tax of 4 per cent. The 
bottles hold one-fifth of a gallon. 

Estimate for a small p]:\ut is as follows: O. A. 

I 25-gallon copper still $225.00 

Furnace and setting of same 57 20 

Cane mill (nmlc pdwcr), cai)acity 5 tons cane, or 720 

gals, juice 75-00 

Building and fittings 77-00 

14S 



Ferment tr^ju.^h 22.00 

10 kegs 5.00 

$461.20 
Contingencies and omissions, 10 per cent 46.12 

$507.32 
Frcigiit. Cincinnati to .\e\v Vork. thence to Honduras 22.7^2 



DR. 
Cost of ( )i)cration. ( I'esos.) 

1 distiller per day 1.50 

2 laborers per day i.oo 

2 men cutting- per day i.oo 

3 men boating per dav i.^o 

— — (). A. 

Cost i)er da\- 5.00 pesos = $2.42 

\\'ood 1.25 



CR. 

IMake 4 distillations ])er day. 2^ g^als. each. . . . loog^als. 
50 per cent, spirits 50 gals. 



$529.64 



Contingencies, lo per cent. . . . .37 ().A. 

— $4.04 



or 50 X 5 = 250 bottles, at .23 i^csos. $57.50 = 25.30 



Net profit ( per day ) $2 1 .26 

Cost of Cane Patch Ter Acre. O. A. 

Clearing- (without g^rubbing) $3.84 

Planting (4 ft. apart) 3,025 plants 1.30 

3,025 joints of seed cane at i centavo = pesos $30.25. ^?>Z'^ 



$18.45 
I cleaning- per year 2.00 



Total $20.45 

Grubbing- is not necessary, and is never done. After first 
planting- it will continue to rattoon or grow from the root for 
12 to 15 years, and requires no cultivation. 

Twelve acres of cane will supply 100 gallons of juice for dis- 
tilling-, daily, for 6 months. 

• 149 



The cane of Honduras is said to be richer in. alcohol than any 
other in Central America, and will prove at least 36 per cent. 
The rum has only to prove 21 per cent, when delivered to the 
Government. 

Honduras has an annual income of 800.000 pesos from this 
source. Salvador 2,600,000 pesos and Guatemala 3,500.000 pesos, 
a peso being worth at this time 44 cents. A'lanufacturers are 
allowed to retain what they need for their own use and for 
medicine. This business is considered perfectly respectable in 
Central America, and a former President of the Republic was 
engaged in it. 

The manufacture of lime, cement, brick and tiles has alreadv 
been alluded to. 




L.\rN< II •• L(u isi:." 

Pottery. Kaolin clays. suital)le for tine pottery making, I dis- 
covered on your grant at Savannah, or W'axma. in inexhaustible 
amount on the Patuca river. This industry could be made an 
important one. The Indians make a rough but serviceable ]iot- 
tery universally used in the Rejiublic. 

Glass Makiiio;. It is probable that this industry might be de- 
veloped near the coast, as at Patuca. 

Fuller's Earth exists at Gualpitanti, as 1 discoveretl. This 
can be mined and used fur refining the oils made, or can be ex- 
ported. 



150 



Mineral Paint Makiii^^. I found a good quality of Chrome 
earth near Crupunto, and the manufacture of paint here should 
be looked into. 

' hiour and Meal. Wheat, rye. barley and oats can be raised 
on the elevated lands of your grant, and corn everywhere, and 
the manufacture of flour, meal, grits and cornstarch could be 
made very profitable, with an assured home market for all the 
product. 

There is a brewerv at Tegucigalpa which would furnish a mar- 
ket for considerable malt. 

The (lovernment is anxi(jus to encourage this industrx , and 
will give substantial assistance. 

There are now but three or four small flour windmills. This 
could be made one of the largest and best paying businesses in 
the country. 

Banana and Plantain Plour. Settlers on the Patuca ri\er will 
be exceptionally well situated for engaging in this business. 

STARCJl. ARROW -ROOT AXU TAPIOCA. 

Starch is made from the Coonti, or Arrow-Root, and from 
Cassava, or Yuca, and could also be made from green bananas 
and plantains. The cassava is raised by all the Caribs, but I did 
not see any coonti groAving in the country. It grows wild in 
Florida, and could easily be introduced to Ilonduras. The manu- 
facture of starch from it affords occupation to many poor ])eo]ile 
in Florida, as the process is very simple and requires no capital. 

Tapioca is made from starch by heating on flat iron surfaces. 
There are several varieties of starch, viz.: edible, laundry, and 
medicinal. 

Corn Starch is made from corn. The Government of Hon- 
duras is very desirous of introducing this industry. A great deal 
of corn is growm in the country, and it would materiallx" assist 
the manufacture. 

CAXXED GOODS. 

Canning Frnits. An outfit for canning fruit costs- very little 
($150.00) and the business is easily learned. Our own lands will 
raise the sugar required, and a great waste of bananas can be pre- 
vented b}' canning, because the steamers will not take less than 8 
hand bunches and all smaller bunches go to waste. They are 
canned in milk. Canned pine apples have a place in all grocery 
stores and canned guavas are extensively introduced in the south 
of the United States. There are also all the large list ci delicious 
tropical fruits, that, being too perishable, can never be sent to 

151 



market. JJeing" canned they could be held over, and shipped at 
any time, thus being entirely independent of market fluctuations. 
Also peaches, apricots, beans, tomatoes, corn, sapotes, mangoes, 
bread fruit, etc. 

Canned Fish and Meats. I believe that the canning of mullet, 
drum, sheep head, rock fish, king fish, grouper, Spanish mack- 
erel, crevalle, rovalle, barracouta, etc., in large cans, holding not 
less than from one to five gallons, would form a desirable addi- 
tion to our food supply and should not cost any more than fish 
preserved in salt and be much more healthy and palatable. 

The above mentioned fish and porgies. jew fish, eels, jack fish, 
catfish, bream, big-mouthed bass and cuyamel, or carp, abound 
in greater or less quantity in the waters of your grant and the 
adjacent shores. 

Turtle eggs, green turtle and loggerheads, the latter often 
weighing 300 to 400 pounds, game such as wild duck, wild turkey, 
venison, wild hogs and beef, could also be canned. The Indians 
have a large number of fine cattle, and game is abundant. 

Extract of beef can also be made. 

Essences from fruit, such as lemon, pine apple, vanilla. 

Jellies and Marmalades, such as guava jelly, which has a de- 
servedly high reputation and price, orange and mango marma- 
lade, mango, peach, quince, grapes, etc. 

Chocolate is made from the cacaonut (not cocoanut). 

Raisins. 

JJ'ine, from grapes and oranges. 

Lime zcatc7', or juice from the lime fruit, a member of the 
citrus family, which is grown with the greatest ease. It has a 
large sale in the Navy and for vessels on long vovages. 

Dried figs and dried bananas and plantains. \'ery nice. The 
latter are sold in the market at Tegucigalpa. 

Honey. 

Grinding and putting up Pepper, black and red. 

Bay Ruin, from leaves of the bay tree, or bastard mahogany. 

Pichles, -from cucumbers, mango melons, water melons, cau- 
liflower, beans, red pepjxM-s. tomatoes, onions, etc. 

Tomato Catsiip. 

Pefpcr Sauce, from llie .Spanish, or I'.ird red jieppcr. 

Tobasco Sauce is alst) made from the red pepper. This com- 
paratively new and pfipular sauce is simply strong red pepper, 
ground uj:) in vinegar, it brings a good jtrice. 

Ink, from oak galls. Indelilile ink made from iuice of banana 
stalks. 

152 



C harciiai. can be made from the tops of lumber trees, and the 
trees cut down in makinj^ cleariui^s. A y;reat deal is called for 
in the mines. 

Pickled Limes, from the lime fruit. 

Finei^ar, from a])ples, ])ine ap])les. and oranj^^es. 

Medicines, from co])aiha. sarsaparilla. tania. pine apples, 
oranges, limes and numerous medicinal roots. A remedy for dys- 
pepsia, is made in Morida. from small and unsaleable pine apples, 
which has achieved a good and extensive reputation and has de- 
veloped a large and ])r()tnal)le. growing business. 




(i ITIM. Bananas. 

Tonics are made fn ni orange, lemon and lime juice and also 
quinine or chinchona bark and (piassia. 

Sali'cs and oiiifnieiifs. from the Peruvian l^alsam, guaiacum, 
and other medicinal gums, gum arable, etc. 

The field for these things is almost illimitable. 

Pcrfiiniery. from vanilla, orange blossoms, etc. Also from 
alligator and wild hog musk. In Florida the manufacture of per- 
fumerv from orange blossoms, roses, etc., is a good business. 

FisJi scale jewelry and artificial floiccrs are made in Florida 
from fish scales, which have gained quite a reputation, and when 
well made are really pretty and sell well. 

] oB 



Buttons, from shell, bone and hard wood. 

Qnill tooth picks, from v/ild turkeys, cranes, herons and peli- 
cans. 

Hats are extensively made in Honduras by the Indians from 
"pacha" (Spanish paja), a kind of grass, and also from "junco," 
a kind of hemp. Also from palm leaves. The last are made in 
Florida also, and are very durable and strong. 

Matting, called petate, is made from a diiTerent kind of straw 
or grass, called in Spanish "paja para petates." This matting is 
universallv used on beds and largely for floors, and looks very- 
neat. 

Clotli, i^'oolcn and cotton, is made quite extensively by the 
Indians of Guatemala. They raise their own sheep, prepare the 
wool, make their own dyes, looms, etc., and turn out a very fine 
quality of cloth, of which fine shawls, blankets, cotton sheets, 
clothing and wool suits are made. 

Silk. Silk worms are raised and a fine quality of silk cloth is 
made by the Indians of the neighboring State of Salvador, from 
which the same Indians make very handsome silk shawls (chalis 
or panuelonesl and handkerchiefs. These industries can be in- 
augurated at Rita Tara. 

Baskets, of many kinds, are made by the Indians of Honduras 
and are well made and pretty. 

Tanning. The natives of Honduras make a great deal of cow- 
hide leather, both sole and upper, of a good quality, and various 
kinds. This business could undoubtedly be made a large and 
profitable one. There is plenty of oak and sumac (see art. on 
woods) and other trees valuable for tanning. 

Deer, hog and alligator skins can be procured in abundance for 
tanning. Deer skins form a large article of export, and alligator 
skins might, but no one has embarked in the business. The value 
of alligator hides is well known. Deer skins can be bought in 
Honduras for 25; centavos per lb. 

Shargrcn, or shark's skin, can be collected and prepared for 
shipment all along the sea front of your grant. Among its other 
uses, it makes an excellent sand paper. 

Pnvpoisc skin is considered to be valuable for water proof 
boots. It can be collected and prepared at the mouth of all 
the rivers and in all the lagoons. 

Shoes. Several varieties of shoes are made in the State, 
durable, well made pnd comfortable, and some not at all bad 
looking. -Ml made from native tanned leather. An up-to-date 
steam shoe manufactory should be a good business, for the home 
trade alone, as leather is very cheap. Flint cow liides can be 
bought for 40 cents gold and lannod liidcs fur 5 to 5^ pesos. 

154 



Saddles and Leather i^oods. A great many very fine saddles 
are made in the State, as all traveling is done in a saddle or on 
foot. They cost in Tegucigalpa from $12.00 to $45.00 (silver). 

Dxcs. Xumerons dye-woods e.xist and the manufacture of 
dyes from them would net be difficult. 

Soap. A very inferior article of soft soap is the only kind made 
bv the natives. The Government would undoubtedly aid the es- 
tablishment of a modern soap factory in a substantial manner. 

Paper iiiaki)ig, from wood or other fiber, could be inaugurated 




ViKW OF PaTI'CA KiVEH NEAl! WaXMA. 

here, with success, I should judge. There is no doubt but that the 
Government would subsidize it liberally. 

Sand Paper could also be made. 

Caudles are made in the country from native tallow and are 
almost universalb- used to the exclusion of lamps. 

Deer and eozv-horn goods, such as ornamental pieces, hat pegs, 
combs, knife handles, etc., would find plenty of raw material. 

Puiiiice-stoue polish. Large quantities of pumice-stone is cast 

]5r) 



up on the beach along the front of your grant, which could be 
easily collected and manufactured or shipped in pieces, as found. 

The United States imports $40,000 worth of pumice-stone per 
year. 

Manufacture of Rubber-Goods. The Indians make rubber 
blankets or sheets, bags, ponchos and jwuches of native rubber, 
sometimes using native-made cotton cloth to spread it on and 
sometimes imported cotton. The color is a brownish yellow, and 
it is preferred by all who have used it to the article made in 
civilized countries, as it is more durable, does not crack and is 
more thoroughly water proof. 

It is not impossible that its manufacture might be improved by 
coloring", or in other ways, to prevent its melting and sticking to- 
gether in the sun, when folded, which is the only objection to it as 
now made. 

Salt, is manufactured at San Lorenzo, on the Bay of Fonseca, 
from sea water, and could be made at Patuca in the dry season. 
There is a large demand in the mines. 

Salting and sniokino- Fish. Beef and yenison. This business 
could be carried on at Patuca, Carataska Lagoon, P)rewer's La- 
goon, Rio Negro Lagoon, and the other river mouths on the 
coast for fish, and at Rita Tara for beef and venison. The 
natives salt and dry the two latter in long strings about an inch 
wide and thick and sell it by the yard. In salting fish in warm 
climates precautions must be used and the back bone must be 
taken out. 

Tobacco, Cigars and Cigarettes, Manufacture. 

(See article on tobacco.) Tobacco raising and exportation is 
free. This business would pay well in. the hands of tho.se skilled 
in curing it. 

Smelting and Ore Reduction Jl'orks. Works of this kind could 
be established on the upper Patuca, say at our Wasspressni station, 
which would receive the gold and silver ore (also copper, iron, 
etc.) by water carriage from the placer and lode mines, located 
higher up tlie river and its branches. This work would j-jrobablv 
largely increase after the ojx^ning of tlic Patuca liar, allowing 
heavy mining ])lants to be hri ught up the river. 

Broom Making. llrcKim corn is raised m I'lorida. and the 
luanufacture of brooms is a n^'w iuthislrx iIkmc. and it jiroliably 
could be raised in Honduras. 

Collecting. Collectors of Specimens of natural history, such 
as birds and animal skins, animal skeletons, fishes in alcohol, in- 
sects, lizards, sea shells, etc.. would find here a jirolific and varied 
field, with i)robabl\- man\ now Sjiccies yet tmdescribcd. The 




I'l.ANTATIO"! S( 1;m>. 



Quetzal, or sacred bird of Guatemala, otherwise known as 
"amazana" or dracon. is found in the mountains throughout the 
country, and brings a large price in the States, and many other 
rare and beautiful birds. 

Collectors of plants will find many ver}- rare and valuable 
orchids, tree ferns, palms, vines, cacti, etc. 

Collectors of medicinal plants, gums and roots have a large 
field, as explained in previous articles. 

Collectors of plumes and hat birds will find great varieties in 
great numbers, especially of the latter. Egret and heron plumes 
sell for $20.00 per ounce in New York. 

Collectors of furs will find Otter (or \\'ater dogs). Raccoon (or 
Pisote), Tiger. Mountain Lien, or Jaguar. Ounce. Ocelot or 
Leopard. Panther. Deer. Monkey. Opossum. Fox. Coyote, Skunk, 
etc. 

Collectors of Curiosities wall find a great many novelties 
(carved cocos and jicoras), sea beans, sea fans, carved pillars, 
sculptures, heads, monkey ladders. Lidian curiosities, native tooth 
brus h, wild Indian zozodont. Indian washing blueing. 

Manufacture of Persian Insect Pou'dcr. The plant from 
which this powder is made is now being extensively grown in 
the Southern L^nited States and the powder made there. It fills 
a great demand there and -would here, where fleas and other in- 
sects are numerous and troublesome. Owing to the high duty 
and mule back transportation it costs $5.00 gold per pound in 
Tegucigalpa, against 20 cents in Cnited States. 

Mattress and pilloi^' making. These can be made from the 
Spanish moss ( Tillansia ) which is found plentifully draping the 
trees in manv mountain regions, or from the Pine needles, tree 
cotton or common cotton. The Spanish moss mattress manufac- 
ture is a large industrv in Florida, and a great deal of the moss is 
shipped north in bales, and its collection and preparation provide 
employment to thousands of men. women and cliildren. all over 
that State. 

The Hondureans never use mattresses on their l^eds. which 
are without any doubt the most uncomfortable and primitive 
aft'airs to be foimd in any civilized coimtry. 

Rustic-Furniture uiaking. ^lany vines and odd tree growths 
are found in this State, and this industrx- would find plenty of 
good material to work with. 

Bamboo kegs, bottles, pails, pif'cs, etc. These are made by the 
Indians by simply cutting off a section of the bamboo trunk, large 
trunks making kegs and small ones bottles. They are sometimes 
carved and ornaniented. It is only necessary io bore a ho\c in one 

158 



end or the middle and the keg or bottle is complete, the inside 
being perfectly hollow and air tight. Kegs and bottles enough 
to freight i.ooo ships could be cut on the Patuca river and 
branches. They are light, do not break when dropped and re- 
quire no hoops, i think they would prove very acceptable when 
once introduced into the market, if turned and painted in an 
ornamental manner. 

Bamboo fence Pickets. These can be easily split from the 
trunks and are light and strong and quickly made and much used 
in some places. 

Dairy, Milk, Cheese and liutter. There will be a constant home 
demand for these articles, at Patuca. Rita Tara and Guaspressni. 
and cream cheese and butter could be canned and exported. As 
before remarked, this region is pre-eminently a cattle raising 
country, and large herds, belonging to the Indians, now roam 




Guoir OF Mativk Hoijsi>. 

over it. The cattle are of good size and fat, but the cows do not 
give much milk, one gallon being considered about the top limit 
of milk at one milking. The breed should l^e improved by the 
introduction of Jerseys and other good stock. Hondureans will 
not eat American or foreign butter, considering it too greasy. 

Gardening, to supply the workmen and visiting vessels with 
fresh vegetables, would be profitable, as already said. 

Bakery. Housekeepers in Honduras cities never bake their 
own bread, but purchase from a professional baker. 

To supply our workmen at Rita Tara and Patuca 2 bakers 
would be required. 

. Butchers. Two will find employment as above. There are no 
butchers in Honduras and such things as Sndoin, Porter House 



159 



and Tenderloin steaks are unknown. The meat is cut up in 
strings and chunks and all fat cut off. Altliough a great many- 
sheep are raised in the countrN', lamb or mutton is never seen in 
the market or on the table. 

BUSINESS GR'IXG LMMEDIATE RETURNS AT PATLTA. 

Immediate Cash returns can be obtained by the Company or 
Colonists taking up the following lines : 

Hauling off from the beach and selling the mahogany logs pre- 
viously spoken of. 

Cutting and shipping mahogany and other valualile lumber. 

Getting out sticks for canes and umbrella sticks and special 
woods for brush and tool handles, gunstocks, carriage woods, en- 
gineers', architects" and draughtsmen's instruments, picture and 
mirror frames, etc. Collecting and shipping sarsaparilla,- and 
other medicinal gums, roots, balsams, etc. 

Cutting and selling dye-woods. 

Collecting rubber. 

Making rustic furniture and bamboo kegs and pails. 

Digging and shipping Euller's earth. 

iMaking mineral paint. 

Making turpentine, rosin and tar. 

Collecting and selling skins, hides, bird skins, orchids, etc. 

Collecting and selling pumice stone. 

IMaking fertilizers, fish scrap and hard wood ashes and shipping* 
them. 

Buying from the Indians and shipping bananas. 

Buying and shipping cattle. 

Making aguardiente or rum. on a Government contract, on 
small scale, buying the sugar cane from the Indians. 

These industries could be prosecuted while the imjirovements 
are going en and while they would be more or less handicapped 
until the bar was opened, as has been explained in the article 
on furniture making, it is believed thev could he carried on at a 
profit and afiford a considerable cash income from the start, if 
energetically prosecuted and the markets propcrlv canvassed and 
orders placed in advance. 

I have no hesitation in saying that I believe a net income of 
$40,000 can be realized the first year from these industries, which 
should be increased to $too,ooo the second year. iM-(^vidcd the 
necessary canital is furnished for their exploitation. 

Tn concluding this report T desire to say, that with a somewhat 
extended acf|uaintancc with different countries rmd climes, ac- 

IfiO 



quired during 30 years' practice and travel, I have yet to find a 
country better suited to sustain a large and prosperous population, 
or one more delightful for a residence or more healthful. 

Embracing, as your grant does, all varieties of soil, topography 
and climate, from the low, hot and swampy lands of the coast, to 
the tops of tlie mountains whose summits are 5.000 to 6.000 feet 
above the level of the sea. he would be indeed a difficult ])erson to 
please, who could not find in this wide range of level prairies, roll- 




PlNE TrKES at KiTA TaI!A, I'aTLM a KlVKR. 

ing knolls, the wooded slopes cf the colinas and lovely emerald 
gems of valley's embosomed among the towering peaks of the 
majestic mountains, a quiet dell for a home or sufficient broad 
acres for a plantation, whose boundaries would extend be\ond the 
sunrise and the sunset. 

Your port of P^'atuca is but the gateway, the porter's lodge of 
this veritable Eden. It is a necessarv adi'unct to vour domains. 



161 



but excepting' those Avhose business requires them to reside there, 
colonists will find little to attract them to Patuca, the vicinity 
being- mostly low and swampy ; but all up the river between Rita 
Tara. Gualpitanti and Wasspressni, we find lands high, fertile, 
sig-htlv and healthy, where the most delicate constitutions can be 
invigorated and built up, and where, as one ascends the mountain 
slopes to the upper plateau, it will be found a luxury simply to live, 
to breathe the pure and invigorating air and to drink the cool 
and limpid waters tumbling down the slopes and ravines in spark- 
ling cascades. 

At these elevations (3.000 feet and over), two blankets will be 
found comfortable at night and spring overcoats at night in No- 
vember, December and January. 

This is not a fancy sketch. Words, however, fail me to ade- 
quately describe this country. I have examined and described it 
en the cold and tmcompromising basis of facts, from a profes- 
sional standpoint, that weighs all the natural conditions and re- 
sources, pro and con, preferring, when possible to quote the de- 
scriptions of others, made independently and unconnectedly at 
different times, as perhaps possibly more unbiased than my own. 

I desire to express my thanks to (besides those mentioned in 
the body of the report) Dr. R. Fritzgartner, Ph. D., Government 
(^eologist, for the loan of valuable Dublications of which he is the 
rr.thor. Also to Don E. Constantino Fiallos, C. E., ]\[inister of 
Public Instruction and Ji-^stice, for docunients and facilities j^-e- 
scnted. Also to Air. Henry A. Spears, E. M., for many valu- 
ah''e reports and data on mines, etc., and to Mr. F. H. Mills. Mec. 
E., Don Luis Loewner, Dr. John Oilman, all of Tegucigalpa, for 
■^-qrious data, and to the Director of the Government Library, 
Scnor P.ermudez Castro, for facilities submitted. 
Respectfulh- submitted, 

(Signed.) J. FRAXCLS LkPAROX. 

Chief Engineer, 
American-Honduras Company. 



162 




163 



NOTES ON THE PATUCA VALLEY. 



From Article in Harpers Monthly, by Samuel A. Bard. 
"There are ruins of English occupation on a small island in 
Criba Lagoon, and at the mouth of Poyas river a Sambo settle- 
ment. Scenery here is beautiful, trees and small shrubbery dotting 
the Savanna in a picturesque manner. Red pitch pine abounds 
here, from which the former settlers obtained considerable tar 
and pitch.. There is an old sugar plantation about i8 miles from 
the mouth. The river Poyas is navigable for small vessels 50 
or 60 miles. 

"Campamento is 1,700 feet above sea level. Headwaters 
of the Guayape yield about $600,000 gold a year. Yoro and 
Olancho furnish $150,000 per year, solely by hand washing. As 
worked in California these placers would yield at least $6,000,000. 

"Valley of Lepaguari is a plain with girdle of mountains; a 
park of verdure springing from a deep rich soil, wide enough to 
sustain the population of a commercial and agricultural State. 
Temperate in climate and free from the local fevers and miasma 
of our Western States, it is capable of giving full occupation to 
thousands of adventurous emigrants who would here find homes 
and healthful remunerative occupation. 

"From Juticalpa to the sea is 220 miles by canoe and naviga- 
tion is available for steamers of light draught at all times of the 
year. The sun sets to music in Olancho and the air breathes 
sounds and delicious odors. His native land appears to him ( the 
Olanchano), as to others, an earthly paradise. \\'ith(Xit lalii r lie 
is rich, without art he is free from disease. 

"A summer in the interior of Honduras brings with it such 
luxuries of air and scenery as can be enjoyed in \^o otlier part of 
the world. The summer or wet season is not, as many suppose, 
a continued fall of rain. A succession of quick showers, and 
thunder storms with intervals of brilliant sunshine make up the 
season. The rain will fall all night in torrents with lightning and 
thunder and wind, alarming but not destroying, and tbcn the sun 
bursts tlu-i)ugh the clouds of ni(;rning over a landscape richly and 

164 



tenderly diversified with ^^reen and gold. A warm air charms 
the senses ; the eyes are pleased but not dazzled with rainbow 
tints reflected by the glittering moisture of the foliage and the 
curtain work of silver and purple clouds, fading gradually as day 
advances, makes these lovely pictures seem near and familiar to 
the beholder." 

Five million dollars of silver went every year from Tegucigalpa 
and half a million of gold dust from the Guayape (Patuca). 

The placer region proper extends from the headwaters of the 
Guayambre and Segovia rivers in a northeasterly direction as low 
down as Cortc Lara, the mahofrany cutting of Sehor Ocampo, on 




Plaza, Teui lii;alpa, with Wing of rRESiDENx's 
Palace ix Backgrouxd. 

the Guayambre, thence in a north and northwesterly direction 
along the foothills of the Campamento range to the headwaters 
of the Tinto or Black River. The general direction of the great 
canons and ravines is towards the northeast. The northeast trade 
winds blowing from the Caribbean Sea and the Bay of Honduras, 
send waves of air loaded with the moisture of the sea and rivers 
along all their valleys, and these waves reaching a cooler region 
deposit a vapor which keeps the valleys on the eastern sides of the 
Cordilleras perpetually green, while the western and southern 



165 



slopes (on the Pacific side) are parched with the dry winds of 
winter. It is this feature of Central and Eastern Honduras which 
confers upon it such unrivaled salubrity and beauty. 

I could not visit all the localities of gold dust, not even all of 
those which are well known. The most celebrated of Lepaguari 
are Los Almaciguerras, the Espumosa, the Murcielego and Las 
Marias. The general wealth of these, and some far richer but less 
famous localities which I visited, is fully equal to those I saw 
worked by successful miners in California, not by sudden yields 
of lumps or lucky strikes, but by the average for a year or two 
years' labor. Two cents to a bucket of earth will make the for- 
tune of a company which will continue to work. 

As for siidden yields I saw several and was lucky enough in 
the one or two experiments which my duties as a topographer and 
negotiator allowed me to make. Half an ounce is not infre- 
quently taken out in an hour, but this is too rich for continuance. 
The experienced miner relies upon his average, not for weeks, but 
for months and even years. 

My visit to the bar, or deposit called Murcielego. in English 
the "Bat." was well timed and gave me an opportunity of oId- 
serving the lavaderas at work. 

A few women were washing on the bar when we arrived. The 
river was in a favorable condition and at a medium height. The 
lavaderas Avorked slowly and stupidly, performing about one-third 
as much labor each as an American miner. I saw taken out from 
one to two and three cents of gold to the pan of earth, in rare 
instances five cents to the pan, which is a good yield. 

One cent to the bucket of earth pays in California where ex- 
penses are heavy. The particles were not scale-like but nmnd or 
irregular and polished by attrition. Pieces weighing five and 
even eight ounces have been taken from this Ixir. The General 
led me to a shallow excavation on the upper level of the bar, 
which is reached by the river only during a freshet, at least 20 
feet above low water, where his lavaderas took rut several pounds 
of gold in the course of six days' washing. American miners 
would dig deep and attack the ledges. 

Durin.>- cnu- return I noticed for the hundredth time the regu- 
larity of form that give these hills their unequaled beautv. With 
an e\en almost insensible gradation, range beyond range, west, 
Udrtli and south, rises an amphitheatre of grassy elevations, wood 
crowned eminences, aspiring hills, lofty ranges, and, further still, 
]xaks of such a blucness they seemed solid ether, as though tlie 
li(|uid atmosphere had been mixed with light and crystalized in 
airy glaciers. 

166 



The hour of sunset at this season banishes all but sensuous and 
poetic emotions. All is softened and tinted with ^old and azure. 
The pure air elevates the spirits and clears the lungs. The voice 




deepens, muscular exertions become easy, almost unconscious. 
You will find yourself enioyiuQ- the most delicate pleasures of 



Hi"; 



perception and poetic emotions flow in upon you at every step. 
Nothing is more absurd or farther from truth than our popular 
dread of "these unknown regions under the tropics." The sandy 
horrors of Sahara or Colorado are not here. Here the sun 
neither scorches the skin nor dries the blood : the earth is warm 
but not infectious. Throughout all the new countries of our own 
western States the local unhealthfulness is prevalent and hard to 
be resisted, even by good constitutions. I found nothing of this 
influence in Olancho. On the sea coast where there are marshes, 
the heat of summer breeds bilious fevers, but even at the mouth 
of the Patuca, along the shores of Brewer's and Caratasca la- 
goons, at Cape Gracias a Dias and as far south as the Bluefields 
River, fevers are slight and net so prevalent as on the Ohio and 
Mississippi rivers. 

The eastern coast of Central America north of Cape Gracias a 
Dias, is uniformlv healthy, excepting at a few points where there 
are miasmatic flats, hummocks or marshes. From the cape as you 
sail northwest the coast becomes higher and from the Patook 
(Patuca) to Trujillo ranges of hills come down nearly to the 
sea. Beyond Trujillo again there are a few decidedly pestilential 
localities, but the major part of the northeast coast of Central 
America is superior in salubrity to any of the West India Islands, 
except perhaps the Bahamas. 

Work may be done at all seasons of the year in Lepaguari ui 
the open air, and as the rivers are rarely dry, because of the con- 
stant moisture condensed upon the interior mountains by the trade 
winds, gold washings on wet or dry diggings, may be carried on 
without interruption by well organized mining parties. When the 
river is low on the Espumosa after the subsidence of a freshet, 
the lavaderas wade into the torrent and bring up gold sand and 
pebbles of remarkable richness. As there are no washings above 
this point until we reach the beginning of the next cataracts, it is 
presumed that an unusual deposit of the precious metal has been 
made here by the action of the torrent continued for a long period 
■of time. It is the intensity with which nature works — producing, 
in close groups, every form of vegetable life — that gives its pecu- 
har beauty to this region. The grass and trees look fat with sap, 
and ready to burst their rinds. The solidest and tenderest, vege- 
tal)k' ivory, and cork: the cocoanut and banana; the grape and 
guava : gum of Arabic and barley of the North ; the most delicate 
of i^crfumes and the ill-scented but useful India rubber : mahogany 
and pitch pine : rosewood and common oak : frankincense and 
anise : cedar and logwood ; all the vegetable utilities have made 
their home in Lepaguari. There is not a conceivable work of 

168 



human hands which mav not be executed here, with materials 
formed upon the surface, nor a month of the year when the work- 
man may not proceed ; nor a day too hot or too cold ; nor a taint 
in the atmosphere, nor an}- indiq-enous or imported pestilence. 




The traveler is bewildered with the richness and splendor of all 
that meets the sense. 

Here is no African desolation, no horrors of an Italian Cam- 

pag-na : the soil reeks with g-old. the rocks are tenacious with 

169 



silver. In one quarter fiery cinnabar, looking like a mouldered 
brickpile, thrusts forward its mercurial red ; reminding you ol un- 
counted millions of liquid treasure, and above it the humble and 
useful pitch pine offers itself as food for the artisan's fire. The 
wealth and power of an empire lies here asleep, like night upon 
the hills, and needs only that those heralds of civilization, the 
northern miners, should awaken it into a brilliant life 

Imagine the vegetable and mineral wealth of New England and 
Mrginia intensified tenfold ; the same genera of plants and trees, 
American in tint and physiognomy ; cur own northern June 
greens and September browns, alternating" with the same familiar 
evergreen tints, but closer, firmer, softer, richer and more varied 
and expanded in every way. It is the Xew World at its best, its 
summit of beauty and utility. The aphorism of Lord Bacon that 
knowledge is power, and, by converse, that ignorance is weakness, 
exemplifies itself in the ignorance of the American people regard- 
ing the real character of the interior of tropical America. A 
young gentleman, whose knowledge of these countries has come 
principally from the traveling menagerie and the picture books, 
associates it only with horrid serpents, destructive tigers, poison- 
ous spiders, and an air reeking with death in every form. He has 
not learned that the white and grizzly bears of the Xorth, the 
panther of the West, the rattlesnakes of Mrginia, and the fever 
of the prairies, are far beyond any cf the dangers of that class 
to be met with in interior Honduras. The treeless hills of Cali- 
fornia offer no sustenance to the traveler. In the swamps of 
Pennsylvania. Lieutenant Strain's ])arty, without food as thev 
were, would have perish.ed to a man. I have lived for months in 
Olancho without seeing a mosquitci, ami, I believe. l)ut one taran- 
tula or poisonous spider. I could not, without great trouble and 
expense, have stocked an ordinary nnuseum with stuft'ed monsters. 
The country is old, and nature accustomed long ago to civiliza- 
tion. Centuries ago it was inhabited by the wild, uncultivated 
aborigines of Central Anierica. To these came the S]ianish Calv 
alleros and established their slave system, mines were worked, 
fields cultivated, cities built ; the interior of Honduras became a 
treasure house and a garden. 

Lepaguare, with its beautiful rivers, the .\lmondarez, Carcia, 
Chifilingo, Moran Espaiia and Guayai:)e, is truly a desirable land; 
nor do I deem it probable that Americans going into this thinly 
inhabited region will degenerate by reason of the air, or of too 
great wealth of soil. Over fields teeming with gold, the 'S'ankee 
man cannot resist the temptation to labor : and it is my firm con- 
viction that in (^Inncho alone, (if all tro]:)ical America, the prcb- 

170 



Icni of cclonizalion, l)y the iivlustrious and tru;j;al citizens of 
Xorth America, will be peacefully and effectr.ally solved. The 
hills cruwnetl with foliage, and tb.e j^lair.s cnvcred with deep grass, 
preserve a constant moisture in the earth. Th.e trade winds, 
blowing at all seasons from the ocean, temper the air to a de- 
lightful mean. At Jutical|)a the mercury in the hottest weather 
of summer seldom rises above 95° of Fahrenheit, and my c vn 
thermcmetrical tables, kept during the fall and winter seasons, 
never fell below ^2°, and only once rcse above 82°. the best me- 
dium for health and exercise. My observations of temperature 




Load; Nil IJanana- 



Ilt)M,l'l,A 



were made dailw three times a day. from September 27th to Jan- 
uar}- i5tli. At six o"cl( ck in tlie morning, observations made from 
December T6th to Januar\- 15th. showed an extreme variation of 
only nine degrees. ^2° to 61°. Xcon observations for the same 
days showed the same variation /2'' to 80°. The morning tem- 
perature at Lepaguare was about =,0° , the noon 78°. the evening 
about 74°. for the winter season. It has never been known as hot 
at Juticalpa— during Jtdy and August — as is frequent at Xew 
York and Xew ( )rleans. The temperature of I^epaguare is prob- 
ably finer and more equable than in any other part of Central 



America. The reasons for this are geographical, ami do not apply 
in general for the tropics. At Truxillo the heat is distressing 
and bilious fevers and dysentery are as common as in New Or- 
leans, but not so fatal because of the better location of the place. 

\'anilla vine trees abound in Olancho and support the vines 
which produce qualities of vanilla finer than any that is brought 
to the United States. I found the vine which bears the pod, or 
bean, growing parasiticallv, extracting its nourishment from the 
bark of the tree to which it clings. 

My very excellent friend, Opolonio Ocampo. the enterprising 
mahogany cutter of Patook (Patuca River) represented to me 
that Bernadis did not half know the importance and advantages 
of the Patook. Ocampo has passed the bar at all seasons and finds 
the river entirely navigable for its whole length. Under the head 
of "Tes oros en Olancho y Santa Cruz del Oro," Bernardis writes 
nearly as follows : 

"The world is generally well informed in regard to the mineral 
wealth of California, Australia, and the headwaters of the Ama- 
zon. These discoveries originated iii the eagerness of commercial 
nations to accumulate wealth by colonizing new countries, and 
were not owing merely to the intrinsic value of the regions them- 
selves. It may be affirmed, without exaggeration, that nearly 
the entire State of Honduras is enriched with metallic veins, and 
conceals in all parts of its territory, treasures which demand only 
a superficial exploration for their development. The scarcity of 
labor, the depopulated condition of the country, the want of min- 
eralogical knowledge, of capital and of mining adventures, and 
above all the peculiar inertness and indolence of the Spanish- 
American people in all occupations which require physical labor 
have prevented the enjoyment of this natural wealth. 

"The departments of Olancho and a portion of Santa Cruz del 
Oro (called also Yoro), are naturally the rivals and equals of the 
California placers. The rivers Guayape and Jalan. which form 
the Patook (Patuca) River, by their junction at Juticalpa. about 
95 miles southeast of Truxillo, bear in their waters sands of gold 
collected along their entire course." 

The bar of the Patook (Patuca) River, lat. 15° 48' 30" north 
and long. 84° 18' west of Greenwich, is an entrance over which 
vessels of deep draught cannot pass with safety, the depth of 
water varying between five and eleven feet according to the season 
and state of the river. Frc^ni tlic bar to the conlhience of the 
Ciuayambre, a distance of sixty miles inland, in a southwesterly 
direction, as the crow flies, the least depth of water is from two 
to five feet as far as the ChilHoncs or rajiids ; above which is the 

172 



junction of the s^reat river Guayambre, which conies in from the 
southeast, taking^ its rise in the mountains which divide Nicaragua 
from Honduras. From the confluence (La Confluencia) to the 
mouth of the Jalan. the depth is 3^ feet to four feet without 
obstacle, through a level country, to a point five miles below Juti- 
calpa, above which are placers or gold washings extending over 
a region between seventy and eighty miles in width. 

The depth on the bar at mouth of the Patuca River is actually 
eleven to twelve feet in winter and six to seven feet in summer. 
The variations are due to storms and freshets. 

"The gold of the Guayape, Jalan and Mangualili rivers is well 
known in Olancho. as are those of the Sulaco, Yugale, Caminito 
and Pacaya in Yoro. Some of these streams are of the richest 
order of rivers, and compare well with that of Copaipo and (juasco 
in Chili." 

At a later period I made a personal survey of the great river 
Guayape (Patuca). During my sojourn in Olancho it was a for- 
midable stream. Mowing majestically towards the sea, fed by 
numerous mountain affluents, the Jalan, GuayajMta. Concordia. 
Espana, Moran, Garcia, Rio de Olancho, Masatepe, Rio Real. Rio 
de Catacamas, and the lesser Tinto. Below Juticalpa the (luayape, 
now called Patook (I'atvica) increased by the Guayambre from 
the south southwest, and then successively by the Gineo, Rio de 
Tabaco on the south, Coyamel, W'ampeo, all large branches with 
numerous smaller tributaries, becomes an immense stream, capa-' 
ble of bearing the steamers of the Uj^per Ohio and Mississippi 
ujion its liosom. During the rainy seasons or summer months, 
the body of water rises to twice its ordinarv depth and spreads 
into vast reaches, "sUnigbs." and fresh water lagoons. When I 
visited the ChifFiones I found four feet of water on the rapids, 
and could discover no obstacle to steamboat navigation, as it is 
now practiced on our western rivers, from the ocean to tlie imme- 
diate vicinity of the placers, above the Jalan." 

OTHER EVIDEXXE. 

Cecil Charles, a well-known writer, who spent fourteen months 
in Honduras studying its people, climate, natural resources, 
etc., etc., says, in a book published by Rand. McXally, & Co. : 

"A great many people have a terrible dread of Honduras as an 
unhealthful place. For the most part, such a feeling is unwar- 
ranted. It is certainly a wise plan to go at once to the interior 
on first arriving in the country. But the coast lands are by no 
means such deadly regions, providing one exercise proper care as 

173 



to living. Wait until yon have been two or three weeks in the 
tropics before you eat fruits to which you are unaccustomed. 
Be careful not to drink impure water without first boiling it. 
There is no danger in the water of the crystal clear mountain 
streams. Avoid getting wet and chilled. If you get caught in 
the rain, take immediately a little brandv. Do not eat too much 
animal food ; if you do, you are apt to become bilious. Be tem- 
perate in the matter of liquors. The aguardiente of Honduras 
is very powerful, and should be taken sparingly. The guaro is 
better in the bottle than down the throat. 

"Xo one v,-ho has been in Honduras can be unaware of the 
perfection of the climate of the interior in restoring health to 
those sufTering from disease of the respiratory organs. The pure 
and gentle atmosphere of these high altitudes is the best possible 
cure for consumptive tendencies. Persons, indeed, whose lungs 
are already seriously afifected. may hope for complete recoverv 
here among these upland forests of pine and oak. For such, an 
altitude of three to four thousand feet is the best reeion. In this 
cool and even temperature they should wear light flannel under- 
clothing and sleep with sufficient coverings during the really cold 
nights. Dailv bathing in the mountain streams, and not too much 
riding, will give them unheard-of appetites and make new crea- 
tures of them in short time. 

"October is perhaps the prettiest month in Honduras. After 
the long months of the rainy season, the look of the world is en- 
chanting. The air is clearest then, for the rains have washed out 
all of the dust. Miles and miles across splendid emerald valleys 
are distant mountains veiled in sapphire and azure. Sometimes, 
beyond low floating snowy clcuds. rise dark-green peaks like 
islards in an aerial sea. The flowers arc all at their best. 

"The road-sides in places are ablaze with yellow and scarlet. 
In other, shadier spots there are ferns and orchids. On a moun- 
tain-side where a thousand tiny streams trickle constantly down 
across your narrow path, there is maiden-hair, delicate and beauti- 
ful beyond description — inexhaustible (|uantities. And mingled 
with it are begonias that you instantly crave to transport 
tr) the Xorth. Further on arc giant ferns, amazing trees that 
make \ou stare. In ant^ther ]:)lace you will find blackberries grow- 
ing wild — bushes and bushes, limitless and unheeded. But it is 
the very same old blackberr\- — red when it is green — that you 
have eaten all the summers of vmir life since \nn were old enough, 
in the Xorth. The natives call it the mora. And everywhere 
you will see the mimosa, the sensitive plant, which in the tropics 
becomes quickly a tree, and docs not quiver and recoil so easily 

174 



at rude contact. There are two species — one with little j^ink 
fuzzy balls, and one whose fuzzy balls are yellow. 

"O, how truly beautiful is the spring-like October of the 
Hondrus uplands !" 

As^ain : 

"There are people who should never ^o to Honduras. These 
are persons lacking in steadfastness of purpose : irresolute, easily 
discouraged folks. They are the class that soon become dis- 
gusted with the life, and set up a tremendous wail to return to 
civilization as they call it. The\- arc ])eople who have not the 
slightest idea of adapting themselves to circumstances and getting 




Patuca River, at Hioh "Water, near the Mouth of the Wampi. 

at the best side of life. They are uttcrh incapable of learning 
Spanish for one thing; they have no desire to learn it. mdeed. 
They depend on others to interpret for them, and when there is 
no one at hand to do their talking for them, they are miserably 
helpless. Such are some of the employes of the minmg com- 
panies. They speiul a year or two in the countrv, grubbing 
along at their work, and grumbling at the cruelty of Fate in 
bringing them to such a spot. They draw their salaries with a 
vindictive air, as if their only remaining satisfaction was m 
knowing that the company had to count out so many silver dol- 
lars every first of the month on their account. These people 



175 



finally return to the United States no wiser, no better off — save 
for their paltry earnings — for their experience in the tropics, 
than so many horses or oxen would be. And these are tne 
people, I believe, who make the ridiculous and deprecatmg re- 
ports of Honduras that we sometimes read in the newspapers. 
They do not scruple to assert that the country is inhabited by 
half-nude savages ; that life is unsafe, and that outrageous liber- 
ties are taken with the property of foreigners. These are the 
people who would have }ou believe that your letters are opened 
in the post-offices, and that espionage of the most annoymg sorr 
exists. Xo stories of the sort should be credited. The post-othce 
authorities are too busy to meddle wdth any one's correspond- 
ence. They would consider it a great bcre to devote unusual 
attention to any letter or package, unless there were reisons to 
apprehend smuggled goods or the violation of the postal laws." 

Again : 

"The Hondurehos are a peaceful and friendly people. Exclu- 
sive of a few of the Indians in the remoter districts, they are 
wonderfully kind and hospitable to all strangers. You can 
travel from Amapala to Puerto Cortez, alone and utterly im- 
armed. with anv amount of money and jewels upon your person, 
and have no fears whatever." 

•And again : 

"Lemons grow abundantly on the coast lands and limes in the 
interior. ]\Iangoes grow almost everywhere. From the mangoes 
delicious preserves might be made, or the fruit could be canned 
for exportation. Figs in a similar shape could. I think, be 
profitably sent to North America and Europe. Pomegranates 
and grandillas are plentiful and are not so perishable. 

"On all. the north coast lands there are found a great variety 
of other tropical fruits, whose cultivation might well be included 
in a plantation. Some of these are guavas, anonas, melons, 
aguacates, plums, sapotes, olives and negritos. 

"From fruits we may turn to other vegetable products which 
may be cultivated. Of these cotton, tobacco, indigo, vanilla, 
cocoa, pimento, ginger, pepper and capsicum might well be con- 
sidered. A general farm in any mountain locality might include 
potatoes, rice, wheat, corn, yams, plantains, beans, and all the 
temperate zone vegetables, such as tomatoes, strmg beans, peas, 
cabbages, beets, turnips, cauliflower, lettuce, cucumbers, squashes, 
musk-melons, celery, radishes, etc. 

"The Honduras tobacco is of excellent qualitv. Cotton was 
grown twenty-five years ago in the country by an .American 
from Georgia, who undertook its culture somewhat as an expen- 

176 



mcnt. He chose the neij^hborhood of San Pedro Sula. the present 
inland terminus of the railroad line starting from Puerto Cortez, 
and there planted several acres with seed he had brouo^ht from 
his home in tlie States. It was that called the Sea Island variety. 
He succeeded in producin.<2: cotton trees havinc: stalks seven and 
eig'ht feet hi.^^h and measurins^ fourteen in circumference. He 
was able to g'ather three or four times a vear the picking's pro- 
ducinc: five hundred pounds to an acre. This plan.tation yielded 
well for ten years or so, at the end of which time the trees seemed 
to run to wood. There is a nntive cotton which nearlv alwa\s 
h^s a pale-reddish fibre. The chief obstacle would seem to be 
the scarcity of labor, renderincf it imnossible to get the cotton 
nicked pronerlv. With sufficient .-ranital. and nerhaps a certain 
amount of imnorted labor, one could look for large profits. 
NePToes from the United States, who understood how to do the 
work, would naturallv be the best hands to have. One should 
set up his own gins and presses, and go into the industry witb 
zeal and determin.ntion. 

"The wonderful wealth of Honduras in her forests alone can 
hardly be realized without visitinrr Hie roimtrv. Mahoganv. 
cedar and rosewood are the princioal cabinet woods exported. 
The mahoganv and rosewood are most nlentiful on the north 
coast; the cedar is nuite common in all the denartments. It is 
found in srreat abundance, as al^o is the lignum vitae in Comav- 
agua. Near the Sulaco River there are some remarkable quali- 
ties. There are noble forests of oik. nine, ronroti. walnut, live 
oak, bigueron. guayacan. ceiba. masica. p-ranadiHa, p-reenthorn. 
tuberose, alazar. guano, tamarind and mulberrv for silk-worms. 
Olancho and Colon have magnificent natural resources ift this 
direction. From the coast to Juti.calm. alono- the Guavape or 
Patuca and the Guayambre. are forests of balsams, mahoeanv 
and cedar, and vast tracts of pine. The dve-^^'oods are abundant 
— logwood, fustic, P>razil wood and others. The medicinal trees 
and plants include the sarsaparilla, inecacuanba. castor oil plant, 
Peruvian bark, etc. The trees vieldiu"- resinous products com- 
prise the copal, guapinal and balsam. The hule, or rubber tree, 
abounds on the coast." 

From the Diar\ of JJ'. U\ Packer, of Sabanai:;raiidc, Honduras: 

"On the morning of the Qtb we continued our journey, entering 
Rio Patuca at 11:51 A. M. Its beautiful banks were like a ter- 
raced lawn, a fringe of heavy grass against a background of 
forest. I began, almost unconsciously, humming from Haydn's 

177 



Creation, "Most beautiful appear,'' for the rich, fertile lands and 
fresh verdure suggested not only beauty, but a grand future of 
wealth to those who were here in this paradise. Of crocodiles 
there were many, an enormous fellow lying on the bank in easy 
range, tempting me to salute him. My salute was forcible as a 
Colt's 44- revolver could make it, and as the leaden compliment 
went to him, it glanced from his scaly covering as harmless as 
flattery tossed to an experienced society belle. Mr. Hines' rifle 
caused another leviathan to toss his head, and with a loud voice 
acknowledge that he felt hurt at the presumption. Through 
the beautiful lands, amid forest and savana, we went all day, 
till, at 7 P. M., we entered the hospitable house of Mr. Nestor 
A. Gross, and I spent a good part of the night in talking with 
him and Mr. Charles Coleman. We shall long remember the 
sack of flour and the cut loaf sugar — a gift — for. as we lunched 
on batter cakes and turtle eggs, we thought of their liberality 
with every liberal mouthful. 

"The next dav, while eating of the flesh of a very tender 
is^uana. I looked at the face of an enormous clifif, and wondered 
if, amid this beautv on one side and the fertility on the other, 
the crocodile should monopolize it, or a teeming population of 
workers find health, sustenance and life. 

"Our return journey is of necessity slow, and as I stand in the 
water after wading, and wait for our boatmen to reach us, I 
improve the opportunity bv committing to memory from a Span- 
ish book a number of verbs and nouns ; also a few phrases. Mv 
neighbor smiles at my ener.<?y under the circumstances : but it is 
all the .chance I have, and the boatmen wonder whv T do it Cfor 
have T not some one with me who can speak for me?) not know- 
ing that. one of the joys of existence is to do your own talking: 
and this is no dreary, poorly ventilated school-room, but in each 
breath of Honduras air there is an impulse to do and persevere. 

"One thing we failed to do — secure any steaks from the enor- 
mous tapirs that frequent this region. We have shot three, but 
they have died in almost inaccessible places, and our time has 
been of 'more value than many tapirs.' 

"We are, on the 14th of Januan,^ at camp on a sandbank. .^ 
hut covered with twenty-nine plantain leaves is sufficient shelter 
against the weather ; but we must sleep lightly, for on one side 
is a mountain swarming with jaguars, twcntv-scyen feet from 
our hut the crocodile marks of to-day, and with us five beings 
who have not yet known what Matthew .\rnold called 'the 
humanization of man in society,' viz.. civilization, and who have 
not forgotten that wc took them, with no very gentle words. 

178 



from their hunting and fishing, to toil here for money which 
they do not worship. Our guide and his family have deserted, 
so we have only five attendants left, and they would rather hunt 
and swim than continue the journey. Onward we go, however. 




Tall Tijmher — Honduras. 

carefully watching, and at last we reach the hut where I am 
writing. Close by us is a wild cotton plant, so large I hardly 
dare speak of its size. Mr. Hines has crawled into it four feet 



179 



from the ground, and, stretching his hands upward, asks for a 
stick to touch the top. Xearly three hundred bolls of superfine 
cotton growing, and so each of us must secure a quantity of seed 
to send to North America. 

"I wish I could tell you more of this choice spot on earth, but 
till our road is made you will prefer to delay coming. In two 
months we expect to have reduced the time four days, and made 
stations that one may travel wdth a surety of comfort which we 
long for, as at present we are very tired. Not one hour for 
sixteen days have we had dry clothing, or a dry blanket at night, 
except the one night when we found a dry bed at the house of 
Mr. Gross. We are well, however, which is the best evidence that 
the climate of Honduras is par excellence, and that we are 
tough." 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND LABOR— BUREAU 
OF MANUFACTURES. 

Daily Consular and- Trade Reports. 
Washington, D. C, Monday June 4, 1906. No. 2,580. 

HONDURAS. 

exports and imports — share of the united states. 

No. XXX. 

Special Agent Lincoln Hutchinson, writing from Amapala, 
May I, furnishes an interesting report on the commerce of Hon- 
duras. An examination of the figures shows the United States 
occupies a prominent position in the Honduras trade. Of the 
total imports for the year 1905, 50 per cent, came from the United 
States, and of the exports, which were double the value of imports, 
the share of the United States was about four-fifths. Mr. Hutch- 
inson's letter follows : 

The Statistical Office of the Government of 1 londuras has re- 
cently prepared a statement of the foreign trade of the country 
for the last fiscal year, ending July 31, 1905. The figures are of 
considerable interest, as emphasizing the prc])onderance of the 
United States in the commerce of this Republic. 

The total imports of the country for the year were valued at 
$2,362,760, and of this amount the United States furnished $1,- 
689,900, or over 70 per cent. The exports were more than twice 
as large as the imports ($5,564,003), tlic United States taking 
$4,622,700, or more than 80 per cent. The share of other coun- 
tries is shown by the following table : 

180 



Country. Imports. 

United States $1,689,900 

212.800 

185.000 



Englanc 

(jermany 

r>ritish Honduras 

France 

Nicaragua 

Spain 

Salvador 



95.000 
66,500 
56,600 
2 1 ,300 
8.400 



Exports. 

$4,622,700 

85,500 

217,400 

74.400 

3,600 

15-500 

1 8,600 




ruESENT ^Method of Transi"ortix(; Freiliits 
IX Interior Honduras. 

8,000 



China 

Japan 

Guatemala 

Cuba 

Panama 

Costa Rica 

All others 

Total $2,362,800 

181 



1,800 

1,600 

900 

200 

15,000 



130.000 

391,100 

1.300 

3,800 

$5,564,000 



The principal items of export are the various natural vegetable 
products of tl;e country, these reaching a value of $2,593,700. 
Mineral exports were valued at $1,998,700, and animal at $909,- 
000. Among the vegetable products exported bananas are by far 
the most important, the total value of shipments being $2,078,400. 
Cocoanuts come next, with $210,900; then hard woods, with 
$128,100; rubber, with $83,900; cofifee, with $52,700, and sarsa- 
parilla, $30,000. 

The chief mineral export is copper, $1,154,000; gold and silver 
make up most of the balance, $813,700. The only important 
animal products exported are cattle, $595,600, and hides and 
skins. $298,000. 

POSITION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The report from which the above figures are compiled illus- 
trates the great strength of the United States in the markets of 
Honduras, but it fails to reveal the equally important fact that the 
commanding position of the United States has been attained only 
in recent years. Ten years ago the sales of the United States to 
Honduras were not only much smaller in absolute amount, but 
they constituted a far less important share in the total purchases 
of that country. And the increase has shown itself not merely 
in one or two classes of goods, but in nearly every important 
item of our trade. The following figures illustrate the develop- 
ment of exports from the United States to Honduras, values 
being stated in thousands of dollars. The figures represent an- 
nual averages for two five-year periods stated : 

Class of goods. 1895- 1899. 1900- 1904. 

All food stuffs, including breadstuff's, 

provisions, wines, liquors, etc. ... 13 1.6 220.3 

Cotton Goods 181.4 278.9 

Iron and steel, and manufactures of. . 92.6 151-I 

Chemicals, drugs, medicines, etc 35.4 51.3 

Explosives -i-7 42.9 

Quicksilver 43.3 47.9 

W^ocd, and manufactures of 20.0 38.9 

Leather, and manufactures of 14.7 33.2 

Sugar and molasses 14.4 20.4 

Oils T0.5 19.1 

.Ml goods 667.2 1,057.2 

The only goods showing a decline between the two periods are 
a few unimportant ones : Scientific instruments and apparatus. 
$5,700 to $4,500; notions, $2,300 to $1,900; soap, $8, too to 
$6,600, and bottled wines, $2,100 to $1,400. 

1{53 



Resides the fore^oins;- more important classes of goods arc 
many others which show a similar increase — paper, candles, cars, 
carriages and other vehicles, coal, earthen and china ware, glass- 
ware, rubher manufactures, lamps and cliandeliers, matches, oil- 
cloths, paints, etc.. perfumery and cosmetics, manufactures of 
straw and palm leaf, tinware, etc. The ra])id rise of the United 
States to the controlling ])osition in the commerce of I londuras 
is but one of manv illustrations of what our exporters ma\- do 
in time in many ])arts of S])anish- America. 



183 



24 5 91 



OCr 24 1906 



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